HESI A2 words (KCY)

Abstain

To voluntarily refrain from something. (EX: The dental hygienist instructed the patient to abstain from smoking to improve his breath odor.)

Abrupt

Sudden and possibly unexpected

Accolade

Tribute or honor.

Accountable

To be responsible. (EX: Paramedics are accountable for maintaining up-to-date knowledge or resuscitation techniques.)

Acute

Sudden, intense. (EX: The nurse administered the prescribed pain medication to the patient who was experiencing acute pain after surgery.)

Adhere

To hold fast or stick together. (EX: The tape must adhere to the patient's skin to hold the bandage in place.)

Adverse

Undesired, possibly harmful. (EX: Vomiting is an adverse effect of many medications.)

Aegis

Control, protection. (EX: Unit staffing decisions are under the aegis of the nurse manager.)

Aggregate

A sum total of many things.

Aggrieved

Hurt or angry.

Ambivalent

Uncertain, having contradictory feelings. (EX: After learning that she had breast cancer, the patient was ambivalent about having a mastectomy.)

Anachronism

A thing of the past. "My disease is anachronism"

Antidote

Cure or remedy. "I need an antidote for this headache"

Antigen

stimulates the production of antibodies

Alleviate

Reduce. "This medicine is alleviating my pain"

Apply

To place, put on, or spread something.

Assent

To give consent, to agree.

Audible

Able to be heard. (EX: The respiratory therapist noted the patient's audible wheezing as a symptom of the patient's asthma.

Bacteria

Single-celled, microscopic organisms.

Barrage

Bombardment, onslaught. (continuous attack). "This staph disease is so barrage, I keep getting butt pimples."

Bearing

Manner, direction, or influence.

Benign

Not harmful.

Bilateral

Present on two sides.

Callous

Heartless, cruel, or pitiless.

Cardiac

Of or relating to the heart.

Cataract

Medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision.

Cavity

An opening or an empty area.

Cease

Come to an end or bring to an end.

Chronology

Order of events as they occurred; timeline.

Compensatory

Offsetting (amount that diminishes or balances the effect of a contrary one) or making up for something. Best described as corrective.

complement

something that completes or makes up a whole

Concave

Rounded inward. (RBC)

Concise

Brief, to the point.

Consistency

Degree of viscosity; how thick or thin a fluid is in relation to how it flows. (Texture).

Constitute

To establish, create, or organize.

Constrict

To draw together or become smaller. "Blood vessels constrict when you are in a cold environment"

Contingent

Dependent/reliant.

Contraindication

A reason something is not advisable or should not be done.

Convoluted

To be complex. "Her symptoms were very convoluted: back pain, headache, and severe nose bleed."

Convulsive

Having or causing convulsions (violent shaking of the body [epilepsy])

Covert

Hidden or concealed. "Her bruises were covert under her clothes"

Cursory

Quick, perfunctory, not thorough. "run a cursory examination on the adult."

Defecate

Expel feces.

defenestrate

to throw someone out of a window

Deficit

A deficiency or lack of something.

Delusional

Confused or mistaken.

Depress

Press downward.

Depth

Downward measurement from a surface.

Desiccated

Dried or withered. "Her feces were desiccated"

Deteriorating

Worsening.

Device

Tool or piece of equipment.

Diagnosis

Identification of an injury or disease.

Dilate

To enlarge or expand.

Dilute

To make a liquid less concentrated.

Discrete

Distinct, separate. "Her bruises were so discrete, scattered all around her body"

Distal

Distant; away from the center (body).

Distended

Enlarged or expanded from pressure. "Her stomach looked like a balloon, it was distended"

Docile

Easily handled, tame i.e. not dangerous or frightened by people. "The little girl was docile, very gullible."

Dysfunction

Impaired or abnormal functioning.

Earthly

Worldly or possible.

Empathy

Ability to share what others are feeling; understanding the feelings of another.

Endogenous

Developing internally of body. "Cells are endogenous"

Eradicate

To destroy completely. "Everyone wants to eradicate cancer."

Equilibrium

Balance.

Ethereal

Being extremely delicate or refined, ghostly, or eerie.

Etiology

The origin or cause of a disease or condition.

Euphemism

An inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive. "Im sorry, but your father passed away."

Euphoric

Confident. (I am euphoric about this exam.)

Exacerbate

To make worse or more severe.

Exogenous

Developing externally of body. "Hair is exogenous"

Expand

To increase in size or amount.

Expectorate

To cough up discharge from the lungs through the mouth. (spit).

Exposure

To come in contact.

Extension

Lengthening; unbending a joint.

External

Located outside the body.

Fatal

Resulting in death.

Fatigue

Extreme tiredness, exhaustion.

Febrile

Fever.

Flaccid

Soft and hanging loosely or limply, especially so as to look or feel unpleasant. (LIMP) (PENIS)

Flexion

Bending a joint. "FLEXING YOUR ARM"

Flushed

Reddened or ruddy appearance.

Forgo

Omit (to leave out or exclude). (FORGO-> NOGO).

Gastrointestinal

Of or relating to the stomach and the intestines.

Halitosis

Bad breath.

Hedge

Evade, circumvent, or dodge. (ESCAPE OR AVOID).

Heedless

To be thoughtless, unmindful, or careless.

Hematologic

Of or relating to blood.

Hydration

Maintenance of body fluid balance.

Hygiene

Measures contributing to cleanliness and good health.

Impaired

Diminished or lacking some usual quality or level.

Impending

Occurring in the near future, about to happen.

Impervious

Impenetrable, not allowing anything to pass through. "skin"

Implement

To put into action or to cause it to happen.

Imply

To suggest without explicitly stating. (Sender of a message implies)

Incidence

Occurrence.

Infection

Contamination or invasion of body tissue by pathogenic organisms.

Infer

To conclude or deduce- arrive at a fact. (The receiver of the message infers)

Inflamed

Reddened, swollen, warm, and often tender.

Ingest

To swallow for digestion.

Inhibits

To hold back, constrain, reduce, or slow. "Migraine pills inhibit migraines"