EMT VOCABULARY
1.abrasion: an open injury to the outermost layer of the skin (epidermis)
caused by a scraping away, rubbing, or shearing away of the tissue.
2.acute: with rapid onset.
3.adequate breathing for an adult: 12-20 per minute
4.adequate breathing for a child: 15-30 per minute
5.adequate breathing for an infant: 25-50 per minute
6.administration: the route and form by which a drug is given.
7.advance directive: instructions, written in advance, such as a Do Not
Resuscitate (DNR) order, a living will, or a durable power of attorney.
8.agonal respirations: gasping-type respirations that have no pattern
and occur very infrequently; a sign of impending cardiac or respiratory
arrest.
9.apnea: absence of breathing; respiratory arrest.
10.asystole: a heart rhythm indicating absence of any electrical activity i
the heart
11.aura: an unusual sensory sensation that may precede a seizure
episode by hours or only a few seconds.
12.auscultation: listening for sounds within the body with a stethoscope.
13.AVPU: a mnemonic for alert, responds to verbal stimuli, responds
to painful stimulus, unresponsive, to characterize levels of
responsiveness.
14.avulsion: an open injury characterized by a loose flap of skin and soft
,tissue that has been torn loose or pulled completely off.
15.baroreceptors: stretch-sensitive receptors located in the aortic arch
and carotid bodies that constantly measure the blood pressure.
16.baseline vital signs: the first set of vital sign measurements to
which subse- quent measurements can be compared.
17.bilaterally: on both sides
18.basilar skull: floor of the skull.
19.battle sign: discoloration of the mastoid suggesting basilar skull
fracture.
20.blood pressure: the force exerted by the blood on the interior walls of
the blood vessels
21.bloody show: the mucus and blood that are expelled from the vagina
as labor begins.
22.blunt trauma: a force that impacts or is applied to the body but is
not sharp enough to penetrate it, such as a blow or a crushing injury.
23.body mechanics: application of the study of muscles and body
movement (kinesiology) to the use of the body and to the prevention
and correction of problems related to posture and lifting.
24.bradychardia: a heart rate less than 60 beats per minute.
25.bradypnea: a breathing rate that is slower than the normal rate.
26.brain herniation: compression and pushing of the brain through the
foramen magnum.
27.bronchi: the two main branches leading from the trachea to the
lungs, providing the passageway for air movement.
28.bronchioles: small branches of the bronchi
, 29.bronchoconstriction: constriction of the smooth muscle of the
bronchi and bronchioles causing a narrowing of the air passageway.
30.bronchodilator: a drug that relaxes the smooth muscle of the
bronchi and bronchioles and reverses bronchoconstriction
31.bronchospasm: spasm or constriction of the smooth muscle of the
bronchi or bronchioles
32.Brown-Sequard syndrome: loss of different functions on opposite
sided of the body from injury to one side of the spinal cord.
33.burn shock: a form of nonhemorrhagic hypovolemic shock resulting
from a burn injury.
34.capillary refill: the amount of time it take for capillaries that have
been com- pressed to refill with blood
35.cardiac arrest: the cessation of cardiac function with the patient
displaying no pulse, no breathing, and unresponsiveness.
36.cardiac compromise: reduced heart function with the patient
displaying no pulse, no breathing, and unresponsiveness.
37.cardiac contusion: a bruise to the heart wall caused by severe blunt
trauma to the chest where the heart is violently compressed between
the sternum and the spinal column.
38.cardiac hyertrophy: an increase in the size of the heart from a
thickening of the heart wall without a parallel increase in the size of the
cavity.
39.cardiogenic shock: poor perfusion resulting from an ineffective pump
function of the heart, typically the left ventricle.
40.cavitation: a cavity formed by a pressure wave resulting from the
1.abrasion: an open injury to the outermost layer of the skin (epidermis)
caused by a scraping away, rubbing, or shearing away of the tissue.
2.acute: with rapid onset.
3.adequate breathing for an adult: 12-20 per minute
4.adequate breathing for a child: 15-30 per minute
5.adequate breathing for an infant: 25-50 per minute
6.administration: the route and form by which a drug is given.
7.advance directive: instructions, written in advance, such as a Do Not
Resuscitate (DNR) order, a living will, or a durable power of attorney.
8.agonal respirations: gasping-type respirations that have no pattern
and occur very infrequently; a sign of impending cardiac or respiratory
arrest.
9.apnea: absence of breathing; respiratory arrest.
10.asystole: a heart rhythm indicating absence of any electrical activity i
the heart
11.aura: an unusual sensory sensation that may precede a seizure
episode by hours or only a few seconds.
12.auscultation: listening for sounds within the body with a stethoscope.
13.AVPU: a mnemonic for alert, responds to verbal stimuli, responds
to painful stimulus, unresponsive, to characterize levels of
responsiveness.
14.avulsion: an open injury characterized by a loose flap of skin and soft
,tissue that has been torn loose or pulled completely off.
15.baroreceptors: stretch-sensitive receptors located in the aortic arch
and carotid bodies that constantly measure the blood pressure.
16.baseline vital signs: the first set of vital sign measurements to
which subse- quent measurements can be compared.
17.bilaterally: on both sides
18.basilar skull: floor of the skull.
19.battle sign: discoloration of the mastoid suggesting basilar skull
fracture.
20.blood pressure: the force exerted by the blood on the interior walls of
the blood vessels
21.bloody show: the mucus and blood that are expelled from the vagina
as labor begins.
22.blunt trauma: a force that impacts or is applied to the body but is
not sharp enough to penetrate it, such as a blow or a crushing injury.
23.body mechanics: application of the study of muscles and body
movement (kinesiology) to the use of the body and to the prevention
and correction of problems related to posture and lifting.
24.bradychardia: a heart rate less than 60 beats per minute.
25.bradypnea: a breathing rate that is slower than the normal rate.
26.brain herniation: compression and pushing of the brain through the
foramen magnum.
27.bronchi: the two main branches leading from the trachea to the
lungs, providing the passageway for air movement.
28.bronchioles: small branches of the bronchi
, 29.bronchoconstriction: constriction of the smooth muscle of the
bronchi and bronchioles causing a narrowing of the air passageway.
30.bronchodilator: a drug that relaxes the smooth muscle of the
bronchi and bronchioles and reverses bronchoconstriction
31.bronchospasm: spasm or constriction of the smooth muscle of the
bronchi or bronchioles
32.Brown-Sequard syndrome: loss of different functions on opposite
sided of the body from injury to one side of the spinal cord.
33.burn shock: a form of nonhemorrhagic hypovolemic shock resulting
from a burn injury.
34.capillary refill: the amount of time it take for capillaries that have
been com- pressed to refill with blood
35.cardiac arrest: the cessation of cardiac function with the patient
displaying no pulse, no breathing, and unresponsiveness.
36.cardiac compromise: reduced heart function with the patient
displaying no pulse, no breathing, and unresponsiveness.
37.cardiac contusion: a bruise to the heart wall caused by severe blunt
trauma to the chest where the heart is violently compressed between
the sternum and the spinal column.
38.cardiac hyertrophy: an increase in the size of the heart from a
thickening of the heart wall without a parallel increase in the size of the
cavity.
39.cardiogenic shock: poor perfusion resulting from an ineffective pump
function of the heart, typically the left ventricle.
40.cavitation: a cavity formed by a pressure wave resulting from the
