NUR 310 Final Exam Review

Abduction

Movement of a body part away from the median plane or midline of the body.

Abrasion

A wound or lesion caused by rubbing or scraping of the skin or a mucous membrane. Are susceptible to infection.

Adduction

Movement of a body part toward the median plane or midline of the body.

Afebrile

Without fever, denoting apyrexia. Having a normal body temperature.

Affect

The expression of emotions through external behaviors, or the individual’s emotional state (mood).

Alopecia

Partial or complete loss of hair to an area.

Amenorrhea

The absence of menstrual periods.

Anasarca

Generalized massive edema caused by infiltration of serous fluid into subcutaneous connective tissue.

Anorexia

A lack or loss of appetite.

Anuria

The complete lack or suppression of urine formation by the kidneys, as in acute renal failure.

Aphagia

The refusal or loss of the ability to swallow.

Aphasia

The loss of ability to speak or write coherently or to understand speech or writing due to a cerebrovascular injury.

Apnea

The total absence or cessation of breathing; may be periodic.

Ascites

An abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen.

Asystole

Absence of a pulse or contractions of the heart.

Atrophy

A wasting or decrease in size of a body part, organ, or tissues as a result of disease, injury, or lack of use.

Autonomy

An individual’s right to determine their own actions and the freedom to make their own decisions.

Avulsion

The tearing away or forcible separation of a body part or structure by trauma or surgery.

Beneficence

The doing of good and acting in the best interest of a client by providing care that benefits them.

Borborygmus

Hyperactive bowel sounds (rumbling, growling, or gurgling) heard without a stethoscope. Caused by a propulsion of gas through the intestines.

Bradycardia

Slowness of the heartbeat or heart rate, usually defined as a rate less than 60 beats per minute.

Calculi

An abnormal concretion, usually composed of mineral salts, occurring within the body, mainly in hollow organs or passages.

Cerumen

Soft, brownish-yellow, waxy secretion of the ceruminous glands of the external auditory canal. Also known as ear wax.

Cheilitis

Severe cracking at the corners of the mouth. Also refers to inflammation of the lips.

Chloasma

Patchy brown or dark brown skin discoloration on the face that usually occurs in women. Caused by hormonal changes, such as pregnancy or taking oral contraceptives.

Circumduction

Movement of a body part or extremity in a circular direction.

Claudication

A halt or lameness in a person’s walk; a limp. Cramping or pain in a leg caused by poor blood circulation.

Clonic

Abnormal involuntary muscular contraction and relaxation in rapid succession, or continuous rhythmic reflex tremors.

Clubbing

A condition affecting the fingers and toes, especially the nail beds, resulting in thickening and widening of the extremities of the digits; the nails are abnormal curved and shiny. Indicates low oxygen levels.

Comatose

Referring to a state of complete unconsciousness and unresponsiveness, even to physical and painful stimuli.

Confidentiality

Healthcare providers are legally and ethically bound to keep all information in the client' record confidential and not to disclose information acquired during consultation.

Confusion

A mental state involving impaired orientation with respect to time, place, or person and inappropriate reactions to environmental stimuli because the client is perplexed, bewildered, or disoriented.

Contracture

A joint deformity that is primarily unilateral and results in limited range of motion, distortion, or deformity. Caused by disuse, atrophy, and shortening of muscles.

Contusion

An injury (usually caused by a blow) in which subcutaneous blood vessels rupture, resulting in hemorrhage beneath unbroken skin.

Cyanosis/Cyanotic

An abnormal purplish or bluish discoloration of the skin or mucous membranes usually occurring in the fingers, lips, and toes, due to high levels of deoxygenated hemoglobin in the blood.

Diaphoresis

Profuse excretion of fluid by the sweat glands of the skin (perspiration) caused by increased metabolic rate that occurs in fever, increased activity, and disease.

Diastolic Pressure

The lowest arterial blood pressure reached when the ventricles of the heart relax, and blood enters the ventricles.

Diplopia

The condition in which a single object is perceived as two objects. Also known as double vision.

Distal

Situated away from the center of the body, midline, or origin from a reference point; specifically applied to the extremity or distant part of a limb or organ.

Diuresis

Production and excretion of unusually large volumes of urine.

Dorsal Flexion

Turning upward of the foot or toes.

Dysarthria

A disturbance of speech due to paralysis, incoordination, or spasticity of the muscles used for speaking. Word choice is appropriate, but speech is unclear.

Dysphasia

Impairment of speech consisting in lack of coordination and failure to arrange words in their proper order; due to a lesion or injury in the brain.

Dyspnea

A difficulty in breathing or shortness in breath, typically associated with disease of the heart or lungs.

Dysuria

Difficulty or pain in urination.

Ecchymosis

Extravasation of blood into the skin or mucous membranes resulting in a non-eleveted, rounded or irregular patch. In people who have light skin it assumes a purplish-blue tone while in people who have darker skin, it appears more ashen-gray. It is larger than a petechiae.

Ectropion

Occurs when the lower lid of the eye is loose and rolls outward.

Edema

Excessive fluid accumulation within the interstitial or intracellular space.

Emaciated

Abnormal thinness resulting from extreme loss of body fat and muscle.

Emesis

The ejection of matter from the stomach through the esophagus and mouth; also known as vomiting.

Entropion

The inversion or turning inward of the lower eyelid due to spasm of the eyelids or scar tissue contracting.

Enuresis

Involuntary discharge or leakage of urine.

Epistaxis

Bleeding from the nose; a nosebleed.

Erythema

Redness of the skin caused by dilation of the superficial capillaries.

Eupnea

Normal, unlabored breathing; the type observed in a normal person under resting conditions. A person with the expected respiratory rate of 12-20 breaths per minute.

Eversion

A turning outward of the sole of the foot.

Excoriation

A scratch or abrasion of the skin; a linear break in the skin surface, usually covered with blood or serous crusts.

Exophthalmos

A forward displacement (bulging or protrusion) of the eyeballs and widened palpebral fissures.

Expectoration

The coughing up and spitting out of material from the lungs, bronchi, and trachea. Sputum is expelled.

External Rotation

Movement of a joint, around its long axis, away from the midline of the body. Turning outside of a reference point.

Fasciculation

A continuous, rapid twitching of a muscle at rest.

Fowler’s Position

A position where the patient sits upright, and the head of the bed is raised 30-90 degrees above the level. The knees can be bent, or legs can be straight.

Goiter

A chronic enlargement of the thyroid gland, causing a swelling in the front part of the neck.

Gravida

Referring to female clients of childbearing age or pregnant women. Gravida designates the number of pregnancies the women has/has had.

Gynecomastia

Excessive development of the male mammary glands that regresses at puberty. May reappear in aging males due to testosterone deficiency.

Halitosis

Bad or foul breath, indicative of poor oral hygiene.

Hallucination

A complex sensory perception that occurs without external stimulation, characterized by false or distorted perception of objects, events, or senses (sights, sounds, smells, and tastes).

Hematemesis

The vomiting of blood.

Hematoma

A localized collection of blood that accumulates in an organ, tissue, or body space as the result of leakage from a broken blood vessel. This blood is usually clotted.

Hematuria

Presence of blood in the urine.

Hemiplegia

Paralysis of one side of the body.

Hemoptysis

The spitting of blood derived from the lungs or bronchial tubes as a result of pulmonary or bronchial hemorrhage.

Hirsutism

Excessive body hair growth, in a male pattern, especially in women as a result of excess of male sex hormone (androgen).

Hypercarbia

Increased levels of CO2 in the blood.

Hyperopia

An inability to see nearby objects clearly. It results from the eyeball being too short from front to back, causing images to be focused behind the retina. Also called farsightedness.

Hyperpnea

A resting respiration rate that is deeper and more rapid than normal.

Hypertension

Persisting high arterial blood pressure.

• Stage I - SBP: 130-139, DBP: 80-89

• Stage II - SBP: >140, DBP: >90

Hyperthermia

An uncontrolled elevation in body temperature where the body cannot lose heat as fast as it is gained, usually caused by environmental or metabolic functions.

Hypertrophy

A nontumorous enlargement of an organ or tissue due to an increase in size, but not number, of the individual cells and tissue elements.

Hyperventilation

A state in which a person’s respirations are increased in both rate and depth, which can lead to an excessive loss of CO2 in the blood.

Hypotension

A systolic blood pressure reading that is less than 90 mmHg. Also referred to as low blood pressure.

Hypothermia

A core body temperature significantly lower than 98.6 F (37 C) associated with poor perfusion to the entire body.

Hypoventilation

Shallow, slow respiration, resulting in reduced aeration of blood in the lungs and an increased level of CO2 in the blood.

Hypoxia

Below expected level of O2 in body tissue.

Incontinent

Inability to prevent the discharge of any excretions, especially urine or feces.

Internal Rotation

Movement of a joint, around its long axis, towards the midline of the body; turning inside the reference point.

Inversion

Movement at the ankle joint in which the sole of the foot is moved toward the median plane and faces an inward, medial direction.

Jaundice

Yellowish discoloration of the skin, mucous membranes and sclerae due to abnormal excess of bilirubin in the blood.

Justice

Ethical principle that the provision of care, treatment, and resource allocation must be impartial, fair, and equitable to all clients.

Kinesthesia

The person’s ability to perceive passive movements of extremities within a muscular sense.

Korotkoff Sounds

Aural findings heard during blood pressure determination using a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer. Sounds are produced by the altered flow of blood within an artery or a vibrating motion of the arterial wall.

Laceration

A torn or jagged wound resulting from a separation of skin or other tissue by tremendous force. Also called a tear.

Lanugo

Fine, downy hair that covers a newborn infant.

Lethargic/Lethargy

Relatively mild impairment of consciousness resulting in reduced alertness and awareness from which one can be aroused but into which one immediately relapses.

Linea Nigra

Increased pigmentation in the midline of the abdomen during pregnancy.

Lithotomy Position

A supine position with buttocks at the edge of the exam table, the hips and knees being flexed and apart with feet in stirrups.

Lochia

The normal uterine discharge of blood, tissue, and mucus from the vagina after childbirth.

Macule

A small, discolored patch or spot on the skin, neither elevated above nor depressed below the skin’s surface.

Malaise

A feeling of general discomfort or uneasiness, an “out of sorts” feeling often the first indication of an infection or other disease.

Melena

Passage of tarry, black stools due to the presence of occult blood in the stool.