Definition of Terms Used in Medical Nursing

• Acute: Used to refer to conditions with sudden onset, usually severe (life-threatening), but short-lived, lasting less than or equal to three weeks.

• Chronic: Used to refer to conditions with gradual/progressive onset, usually less severe (non-life-threatening), and long-lasting (recurrent or persistent) for more than three months/six weeks.

• Sub-acute: Used to refer to conditions that fall between acute and chronic characteristics, especially when closer to acute.

• Acute-on-chronic: Means an exacerbation or a flare-up of a medical disease that is chronic in nature.

• Disease: An abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and is not initially/primarily due to any external injury. Diseases are associated with specific signs and symptoms.

• Illness: A condition in which the body or mind is harmed because an organ or part is unable to work as it usually does. It can be a disease or sickness.

• Sickness: Impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism.

• Critical: Refers to when the patient’s vital signs are out of the normal range, and the patient may be unconscious.

• Inpatient: Status of a patient who requires hospital admission or one who is admitted in the hospital. Such a patient sleeps in the hospital, mainly for close monitoring and overnight care.

• Outpatient: Status of a patient who is not admitted to hospital for overnight care. Common for patients on oral drug therapy or those with a mild form of diseases.

Common Medical Terms

• Abrasion: A scrape in the skin or mucous membranes that can be treated from home.

• Abscess: A tender, pus-filled pocket, usually due to infection.

• Aneurysm: A bulge in the wall of an artery that weakens the artery and can lead to rupture.

• Aortic dissection: A tear in the inner layer of the aorta.

• Bradycardia: Refers to a reduced/slowing heart rate – typically less than 60 beats per minute for adults.

• Tachycardia: Refers to a rapid/fast heart rate – typically higher than 100 beats per minute for adults.

• Bradypnoea (bradypnea): Refers to reduced/slow respiration rate – typically less than 15 breaths per minute for adults.

• Tachypnoea (tachypnea): Refers to rapid/fast respiration rate – typically more than 20 breaths per minute.

Temperature-Related Terms

• Pyrexia: A body temperature above the upper limit – typically above 37.5°C.

• Hyperpyrexia: Very high fever – typically above 40°C.

• Hyperthermia: Elevated body temperature – above 37.5°C.

• Hypothermia: Body temperature below the lower limit – typically below 35.5°C.

Types of Fever

• Intermittent fever: Body temperature alternates at regular intervals between periods of fever and periods of normal or subnormal temperature.

• Remittent fever: A wide range of temperature fluctuations (more than 2°C) occurs over the 24-hour period, all of which are above normal.

• Relapsing fever: Short febrile periods of a few days are interspersed with periods of 1 or 2 days of normal temperature.

• Constant fever: Body temperature fluctuates minimally but always remains above normal.

Additional Medical Terms

• Benign: Usually refers to a tumor or an abnormal growth of tissue/cells that is not cancerous/malignant.

• Biopsy: A small sample of tissue that’s taken for testing to discover the cause or extent of disease, by microscopically examining the nature of cells.

• Cyanosis: A condition characterized by bluish skin and mucous membranes due to prolonged lack of oxygen in the blood.

• Diagnosis: Identification of a condition, disease, or disorder by evaluation of symptoms, tests, and other factors.

• Thrombus: A blood clot within blood vessels that affects normal blood flow.

• Edema: Tissue swelling caused by fluid accumulation in the interstitial space.

• Embolus: A blood clot, air bubble, or any other foreign small particle dislodging in blood vessels.

• Hypertension: Abnormally high blood pressure.

• Hypotension: Abnormally low blood pressure.

• Ischaemia: Refers to lack of blood flow to an organ or part of the body, e.g., cardiac ischaemia refers to reduced/lack of blood flow to the heart.

• Palpitation: Abnormally strong heartbeat/contraction.

• Malignant: Usually refers to tumors or abnormal tissue growths that are cancerous.

• Tumor: A swelling or mass of tissue, often due to uncontrolled/dysregulated growth.

• Cancer: A mass of related cells due to dysregulation in their multiplication, in which some spread into other parts of the body, interfering with normal body function.

• Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA): Commonly called stroke; occurs when the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen either by blockage or rupture of a blood vessel.

• Sepsis: A serious condition caused by the body’s response to severe infection in the blood and can lead to organ damage/failure.

• Fibrillation: An uncoordinated, quivering movement of the heart muscle, resulting in irregular pulses and poor blood flow, e.g., atrial fibrillation, ventricular fibrillation.

• Bacteraemia: Presence of bacteria in blood circulation.

• Parasitemia: Presence of parasites in blood circulation.

• Jaundice: Yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes due to poor bile excretion, resulting in abnormally high levels of bilirubin in the blood (hyperbilirubinemia).

• Lymphadenopathy: Refers to swelling, pain, or tenderness of the lymph nodes.