Abduction Pillow - ANSWER A firm pillow used to hold a patient's legs in optimum position for
healing after hip surgery
Abuse - ANSWER The willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or
punishment that results in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish; depriving the person (or the
person's caregiver) of the goods or services needed to attain or maintain well-being
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - ANSWER A chronic potentially life-threatening
condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
Activities of Daily Living (ADL) - ANSWER A term used in healthcare to refer to people's daily
self-care activity (eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, maintaining continence)
Acute - ANSWER Something sudden and recent onset from which a person is expected to
recover
Adaptive Equipment - ANSWER A document stating a person's wishes about health care when
that person cannot make his or her own decisions
Advanced Directive - ANSWER A legal document in which a person specifies what actions should
be taken for their health if they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves because of
illness or incapacity
Aggression - ANSWER Hostile or violent behavior or attitudes toward another; readiness to
attack or confront
,Aggressive - ANSWER Ready or likely to attack or confront
Agitation - ANSWER A state of anxiety or nervous excitement
Alert - ANSWER A state in which a person is awake and appropriately answers all questions
Allergy - ANSWER A damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially pollen,
fur, a particular food, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive
Ambulate/Ambulation - ANSWER The act of walking
Amputation - ANSWER The removal of all or part of an extremity
Anal Incontinence - ANSWER The inability to control bowel movements, causing stool (feces) to
leak unexpectedly from the rectum.
Angina - ANSWER Chest pain or discomfort caused when your heart muscle doesn't get enough
oxygen-rich blood
Antibiotic - ANSWER A drug that kills certain microbes that cause infection
Anti-Embolic/Anti-Embolism - ANSWER To prevent blood clots
Apathy - ANSWER Lack of feeling or emotion
Aphasia - ANSWER The total or partial loss (a) of the ability to use or understand languages
(phasia); parts of the brain responsible for language are damaged
,Apical - ANSWER The tip of a pyramidal or rounded structure, such as the lung or heart
Apnea - ANSWER The lack or absence (a) of breathing (pnea)
Aquathermia, K-PAD - ANSWER A waterproof plastic or rubber pad that can be applied to areas
of muscle sprain, edema, or mild inflammation
Arteriosclerosis - ANSWER The thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, occurring
typically in old age
Aspiration - ANSWER Breathing fluid, food, vomitus, or an object into the lungs
Assault - ANSWER Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a person's body without the
person's consent
Assertive - ANSWER Having or showing a confident and forceful personality
Assignment Sheet - ANSWER A sheet that explains a nurse's assignments and contains patient
care information
Assisted Care Facility - ANSWER An assisted care facility provides housing, personal care,
support services, health care, and activities in a home-like setting
Assistive Devices - ANSWER Devices used related to mobility and ambulation, including canes,
walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, and prosthetic limbs
, Asthma - ANSWER A respiratory condition marked by spasms in bronchi of the lungs, causing
difficulty in breathing. It usually results from an allergic reaction or other forms of
hypersensitivity
Athlete's Foot - ANSWER A fungal infection that usually begins between the toes
Atrophy - ANSWER Shrink; the decrease in size or wasting away of tissue
Autoimmune Disease - ANSWER A condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks
your body
Autopsy - ANSWER The examination of the body after death
Axillary Temperature - ANSWER A temperature taken by armpit
Bacteria - ANSWER Microscopic living organisms, usually one-celled, that can be found
everywhere. They can be dangerous, such as when they cause infection, or beneficial, as in the
fermentation and decomposition
Battery - ANSWER Touching a person's body without his or her consent
Bedside Table - ANSWER A table that sits next to the bedside, which helps with patient safety
Benign - ANSWER Refers to a condition, tumor, or growth that is not cancerous
Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) - ANSWER Enlargement of the prostate gland caused by a
benign overgrowth of chiefly glandular tissue that occurs especially in some men over 50 years
old and that tends to obstruct urination by constricting the urethra
healing after hip surgery
Abuse - ANSWER The willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or
punishment that results in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish; depriving the person (or the
person's caregiver) of the goods or services needed to attain or maintain well-being
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - ANSWER A chronic potentially life-threatening
condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
Activities of Daily Living (ADL) - ANSWER A term used in healthcare to refer to people's daily
self-care activity (eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, maintaining continence)
Acute - ANSWER Something sudden and recent onset from which a person is expected to
recover
Adaptive Equipment - ANSWER A document stating a person's wishes about health care when
that person cannot make his or her own decisions
Advanced Directive - ANSWER A legal document in which a person specifies what actions should
be taken for their health if they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves because of
illness or incapacity
Aggression - ANSWER Hostile or violent behavior or attitudes toward another; readiness to
attack or confront
,Aggressive - ANSWER Ready or likely to attack or confront
Agitation - ANSWER A state of anxiety or nervous excitement
Alert - ANSWER A state in which a person is awake and appropriately answers all questions
Allergy - ANSWER A damaging immune response by the body to a substance, especially pollen,
fur, a particular food, or dust, to which it has become hypersensitive
Ambulate/Ambulation - ANSWER The act of walking
Amputation - ANSWER The removal of all or part of an extremity
Anal Incontinence - ANSWER The inability to control bowel movements, causing stool (feces) to
leak unexpectedly from the rectum.
Angina - ANSWER Chest pain or discomfort caused when your heart muscle doesn't get enough
oxygen-rich blood
Antibiotic - ANSWER A drug that kills certain microbes that cause infection
Anti-Embolic/Anti-Embolism - ANSWER To prevent blood clots
Apathy - ANSWER Lack of feeling or emotion
Aphasia - ANSWER The total or partial loss (a) of the ability to use or understand languages
(phasia); parts of the brain responsible for language are damaged
,Apical - ANSWER The tip of a pyramidal or rounded structure, such as the lung or heart
Apnea - ANSWER The lack or absence (a) of breathing (pnea)
Aquathermia, K-PAD - ANSWER A waterproof plastic or rubber pad that can be applied to areas
of muscle sprain, edema, or mild inflammation
Arteriosclerosis - ANSWER The thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, occurring
typically in old age
Aspiration - ANSWER Breathing fluid, food, vomitus, or an object into the lungs
Assault - ANSWER Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a person's body without the
person's consent
Assertive - ANSWER Having or showing a confident and forceful personality
Assignment Sheet - ANSWER A sheet that explains a nurse's assignments and contains patient
care information
Assisted Care Facility - ANSWER An assisted care facility provides housing, personal care,
support services, health care, and activities in a home-like setting
Assistive Devices - ANSWER Devices used related to mobility and ambulation, including canes,
walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, and prosthetic limbs
, Asthma - ANSWER A respiratory condition marked by spasms in bronchi of the lungs, causing
difficulty in breathing. It usually results from an allergic reaction or other forms of
hypersensitivity
Athlete's Foot - ANSWER A fungal infection that usually begins between the toes
Atrophy - ANSWER Shrink; the decrease in size or wasting away of tissue
Autoimmune Disease - ANSWER A condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks
your body
Autopsy - ANSWER The examination of the body after death
Axillary Temperature - ANSWER A temperature taken by armpit
Bacteria - ANSWER Microscopic living organisms, usually one-celled, that can be found
everywhere. They can be dangerous, such as when they cause infection, or beneficial, as in the
fermentation and decomposition
Battery - ANSWER Touching a person's body without his or her consent
Bedside Table - ANSWER A table that sits next to the bedside, which helps with patient safety
Benign - ANSWER Refers to a condition, tumor, or growth that is not cancerous
Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) - ANSWER Enlargement of the prostate gland caused by a
benign overgrowth of chiefly glandular tissue that occurs especially in some men over 50 years
old and that tends to obstruct urination by constricting the urethra
