important definition and terms

• Acculturation


  The level of integration with and adoption of the cultural beliefs and behaviors by members of one cultural group living among members of another cultural group
• ADLs


  Activities of daily living
• Adrenarche


  Adrenocortical maturation, which occurs during puberty
• Adventitious breath sounds


  Abnormal breath sounds heard during auscultation of the lung fields; may include rales (crackles), rhonchi (wheezes), or pleural friction rubs
• Alopecia


  Hair loss
• AMB


  As manifested by
• Anatomic snuff box


  Triangular, depressed area on the dorsal radial side of the hand that lies over the scaphoid and trapezium carpal bones. The name comes from the practice of using this hollowed area to hold and sniff tobacco. This may be a tender point with scaphoid fractures of the hand.
• Anorexia


  Loss of appetite for food
• Anthropometer


  A type of caliper used for measuring elbow breadth and other body parts
• Anthropometric measurements


  Measurements of the human body (e.g., height and weight, head circumference, waistline, percentage of body fat, and so forth)
• Anticholinergic effects


  Responses to anticholinergic medications, which inhibit the parasympathetic nervous system; in older adults, symptoms are associated with increased or decreased heart rate (depending on dosage), constipation, urinary retention, dilated pupils and vision problems, dry mouth, and drowsiness
• Anxiety


  Apprehensiveness related to an unknown source; occurs in different degrees
• Apical impulse


  A normal visible pulsation in the area of the mid-clavicular line in the left fifth intercostal space; impulse can be seen in about half of the adult population
• Apnea


  Cessation of breathing
• Argyll Robertson pupils


  Small, irregular pupils unresponsive to light
• Arthritis


  Inflammation of a joint
• Articulation


  Place of union or junction between two or more bones of the skeleton
• Atelectasis


  Collapse of a lung
• Atrial gallop


  Low-frequency heart sound known as S4; occurs at the end of diastole when the atria contract; produced by vibrations from blood flowing rapidly into the ventricles after atrial contraction; S4 has the rhythm of the word "Ten-nes-see" and may increase during inspiration
• Auscultation


  Assessment technique that uses a stethoscope to hear body sounds inaudible to the naked ear (e.g., heart sounds, movement of blood through the vessels, bowel sounds, and air moving through the respiratory tract)
• BCP


  Birth control pills
• Benign breast disease


  Nonmalignant disease of the breast, such as fibrocystic breast disease
• Biologic variation


  Changes in physical status as a result of genetics and/or environment and/or the interaction of genetics and environment; human variation of a biologic and physiologic nature
• Biot's respiration


  Breathing pattern marked by several short breaths followed by long, irregular periods of apnea; may be seen with increased intracranial pressure (IICP) or head trauma
• Bipolar disorder


  Mood disorder categorized as a psychosis and characterized by emotional ups and downs ranging from extreme depression to extreme elation
• BP


  Blood pressure
• Bradycardia


  Heart rate <60 beats per minute
• Bradypnea


  Slow breathing pattern <10 breaths per minute
• Braxton Hicks contractions


  Painless, irregular contractions of the uterus
• Brudzinski's sign


  Flexion of the hips and knees in response to neck flexion; a sign of meningeal inflammation
• Bruit


  Abnormal sound; blowing, swishing, or murmuring sound caused by turbulent blood flow; heard during auscultation
• Bruxism


  Grinding the teeth
• Buerger's disease


  Obliterative vascular disease marked by inflammation in small- and medium-sized blood vessels
• Bursa


  Small sac filled with synovial fluid that lubricates and cushions a joint
• Calcium


  Chemical element (Ca++) that is a major component of bone structure and a necessary element for muscle contractions
• Capillary refill time


  Time it takes for reperfusion to occur after circulation has been stopped; test for capillary refill involves pressing on a fingernail firmly enough to stop circulation to the digit (signaled by blanching of the underlying tissue), releasing the pressure, and measuring the time it takes for color to return to the tissue; test is used to assess cardiac output
• Cardiac conduction


  Process of excitation initiated in the sinoatrial (SA) node, resulting in contraction of the heart muscle
• Cardiac cycle


  Cyclic filling and emptying of the heart
• Carotid artery


  Major coronary vessel that transports blood from the heart to the rest of the body
• Cataract


  Loss of transparency, or cloudiness, in the crystalline lens of the eye