Vitalsigns

• vital signs are the body's indicators of health and also known as cardinal signs it is a common, noninvasive physical assessment procedure that most clients are accustomed to
• oral temperature is between 35.9 C - 37.5 C
• axillary temperature is between 35.4 C - 37.0 C
• temporal artery temperature is between 36.3 C - 37.9 C
• rectal temperature is between 36.3 C - 37.9 C
• tympanic membrane temperature is between 36.7 C - 38.3C
• basal metabolic rate is the rate of energy utilization in the body required to maintain essential activities
• muscle activity increases metabolic rate
• thyroxine (T4) output is used for regulation of metabolism
• hyperthyroidism can cause a person to feel too hot
• hypothyroidism can cause a person to feel to cold
• fever is the increase in the body temperature's set point
• pyrexia is a body temperature above the usual range
• conduction is the transfer of heat from one molecule to a molecule of lower temperature
• radiation is the transfer of energy in the form of waves and particles
• convection is the dispersion of heat by air currents
• vaporization or evaporation is a continuous evaporation of moisture from the respiratory tract and from the mucosa of the mouth and from the skin
• intermittent alternates at regular intervals between periods of fever and periods of normal/subnormal temperatures
• remittent wide range of temperature fluctuations all of which are above normal
• relapsing short febrile periods of a few days are interspersed with periods of 1 or 2 days of normal temperature
• constant fluctuates minimally but always remain above normal
• pulse is a shock wave produced by the contraction of the heart and forceful pumping of blood out of the ventricles into the aorta
• temporal used when radial pulse is not accessible
• apical used to determine discrepancies with radial pulse
• brachial Supplies the humerus and the muscles and skin of the upper arm and is used to measure blood pressure
• radial Runs along the radial bone, on the thumb side of the inner aspect of the wrist and gives a good overall picture of the client's health status
• femoral passes alongside the inguinal ligament and is used in cases of cardiac arrest/shock
• popliteal passes behind the knees and is used to determine circulation to the foor
• dorsalis pedis passes over the bones of the foot, on an imaginary line drawn from the middle of the ankle to the space between the big and second toes and is used to determine circulation to the foot
• pulse deficit is a condition in which the apical pulse rate is greater than the radial pulse rate that results from the ejection of a volume of blood that is too small to initiate a peripheral pulse wave
• pulse rhythm is the regularity of the heartbeat
• dysrhythmia is a irregular heart beat
• arterial elasticity artery feels straight, resilient, and springy
• bradycardia is a heart rate less than 60 beats per minute in an adult
• tachycardia is a heart rate in excess of 100 beats per minute in an adult
• respiration is the act of breathing
• external respiration Interchange of o2 and co2 between the alveoli and the pulmonary blood
• internal respiration Interchange of o2 and co2 between the circulating blood (pulmonary blood) and body tissues
• inhalation is the intake of air into the lungs
• exhalation is the movement of air from lungs to the atmosphere