20 Emergency medical terminology used by paramedics and first responders before the patiet reaches the hospital terms
If you find medical or Pre-Hospital Care terminology difficult to understand, this glossary can help you learn the meaning of important words used in emergency prehospital care. It was created to improve understanding and communication skills by explaining specialized terms in a simple and clear way. This glossary contains 20 terms related to paramedicine, emergency equipment, and medical emergencies. I used Principes de physiopathologie en soins préhospitaliers d’urgence by Pierre Bayard to select the vocabulary and used Google and medical reference websites to find the definitions. The pictures and visual resources included in this glossary will also help readers better understand the vocabulary used in the prehospital emergency care field.
airway
noun
In the human body, the airways are the anatomical structures that air travels through to enter and exit the lungs. They are responsible for breathing, filtering, warming, and humidifying the air. The airway is categorized into two sections.
Example: Reassurance and explanation " is probably suffering from a viral infection that is affecting his chest and upper AIRWAY.
fr: voies respiratoires
bradycardia
noun
Bradycardia is a condition where your resting heart rate is abnormally slow, typically falling below
60 beats per minute (bpm).
Example: However BRADYCARDIA, hypotension and a reduced respiratory effort (or silent chest) may develop as the episode increases in severity and becomes life threatening.
fr: bradycardie
cyanosis
noun
Cyanosis is a medical term for a bluish or purplish discoloration of the skin, lips, or nail beds.
Example: Other signs associated with hypoxia may also occur in life-threatening attack such as CYANOSIS, exhaustion and confusion.
fr: cyanose
decontamination
noun
Decontamination is the physical or chemical process of removing, neutralizing, or destroying hazardous substances—such as pathogenic microorganisms, toxic chemicals, or radioactive materials.
Example: It is recommended that any uniforms worn by health care professionals should be laundered onsite to ensure that DECONTAMINATION is complete.
fr: décontamination
dyspnea
noun
Dyspnea is the medical term for shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
Example: The clinical symptoms associated with SARS-CoV infection is high fever, rigors, headache, malaise, myalgias, diarrhea and respiratory symptoms, such as DYSPNEA, dry cough, interstitial infiltrates and respiratory failure (Khater and Moorman 2003).
fr: dyspnée
edema
noun
Edema is the medical term for swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in your body's tissues.
Example: This will expedite the removal of hemoarthrosis, reduce spasms, EDEMA and pain as well as reduce nerve root irritation when present.12 Phase of Healing -- Phases II and III The second stage of healing, the repair phase, may last from 48 hours up to 6 weeks.
fr: œdème
hemorrhage
noun
A hemorrhage is the rapid, heavy, or uncontrolled loss of blood from damaged blood vessels, either internally (inside the body) or externally (outside the body).
Example: Pressure applied with a sterile pressure dressing will control HEMORRHAGE.
fr: hémorragie
immobilization
noun
Immobilization is the act or process of preventing someone or something from moving, operating, or circulating.
Example: Recurrent fog imagery employs pathetic fallacy to fortify this impression of impenetrability and IMMOBILIZATION, as it makes the crew feel as; 'if we had been buried miles deep in a heap of cotton-wool.
fr: immobilisation
narcan
noun
Narcan is the brand name for naloxone, an emergency medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses.
Example: Emergency responders administered NARCAN to the individual to reverse the signs of an opioid overdose.
fr: narcan
oxygenation
noun
Oxygenation is the process of supplying, treating, or enriching a system with oxygen.
Example: It is therefore vital that plants can increase the concentration of CO 2 at the site of Rubisco to increase the amount of CO 2 fixation, and decrease the amount of OXYGENATION reactions.
fr: oxygénation
palpation
noun
Palpation is a diagnostic technique in which a healthcare provider uses their hands or fingers to physically examine the body.
Example: PALPATION - The abdomen was soft and non-tender.
fr: palpation
paralysis
noun
Paralysis is the partial or complete loss of muscle function in a part or all of the body.
Example: In Pat Barker's Regeneration patients are shown to repress their fears and opinions thorugh physical defects, such as mutism and PARALYSIS, and in Rebecca West's Return of the Soldier there is a complex theme of repression, most obvious in the soldier wholoses his memory - erasing recollection of the horrific war.
fr: paralysie
respiration
noun
Respiration is the biological and physiological process organisms use to produce energy and exchange gases.
Example: Anaerobic RESPIRATION: Nitrate as a final electron acceptor In anaerobic RESPIRATION, a final electron acceptor other than oxygen is used.
fr: respiration
seizure
noun
A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled surge of electrical activity in the brain.
Example: This shows the analytical value of a technique such as X-ray powder diffraction, and its routine use in substance identification of areas such as drug SEIZURE.
fr: crise d'épilepsie
tachycardia
noun
Tachycardia is a medical term for a resting heart rate that is faster than normal—generally more than 100 beats per minute (bpm) for adults.
Example: Findings on examination that support this diagnosis are: Tachypnoea - respiratory rate > 25 breaths per minute TACHYCARDIA - > 110 bpm PEFR < 50% of predicted normal or best Inability to complete sentences on presentation at A+E An audible wheeze, hyperinflated chest and decreased air entry.
fr: tachycardie
triage
noun
Triage is the process of rapidly assessing, prioritizing, and sorting people (or problems) based on the urgency of their needs and the availability of resources.
Example: It is a tool that is probably more useful in TRIAGE situations to establish priorities or perhaps even to give support to a lone practitioner unsure of a course of action to take for instance when delivering emergency first aid.
fr: triage
unresponsive
adjective
Unresponsive means failing to react or reply to stimuli, inquiries, or medical treatments.
Example: For example, looking at why BA was an UNRESPONSIVE, cold airline, not having much "process", in the pre-privatisation 80s, it could be because it was a Lion Tamer in a highly protective environment.
fr: ne répond pas
vital signs
noun
Vital signs are clinical measurements used to assess the body's basic functions.
Example: A structuralist understanding of this use of metaphor in creating binary opposites gives us VITAL SIGNS as to how the tragic hero should perhaps be understood.
fr: signes vitaux
wheezing
noun
Wheezing is a high-pitched, whistling or rattling sound produced when you breathe.
Example: However, the following article was relevant: EBM Online: Support by another mother and a child-life specialist decreased anxiety in mothers of children with chronic illnesses 161 mothers of children who were 7 to 11 years of age; did not have mental retardation; and were diagnosed with diabetes, sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis, or moderate-to-severe asthma (daily medication, WHEEZING 2 to 3 times weekly, and 1 hospital or emergency department visit in the previous 6 months).
fr: respiration sifflante
withdrawal
noun
A set of physical and mental symptoms experienced when stopping or reducing the intake of addictive substances (like drugs or alcohol), also known as detox.
Example: If these products don't work & the animal is in distress or is suffering, chemically synthesised medication may be administered, a record made and there is a legal 'WITHDRAWAL' period (28 days).
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