Fluid & Electrolytes/Acids & Bases
This electrolyte is the major ion in the extracellular fluid.
What is sodium?
This is the primary function of osteoclasts in bone tissue.
What is reabsorbing bone?
Know the different bone cells (osteoclasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes) and their functions.
This medical emergency involves a single, continuous seizure lasting longer than five minutes, or multiple seizures without a return to consciousness in between.
What is status epilepticus?
The three elements that must remain balanced for normal intracranial pressure.
What are brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, and blood volume?
Regulation of body temperature primarily occurs in this part of the brain.
What is the hypothalamus?
The signs and symptoms of this condition include dark urine, decreased urine output, poor skin turgor, dry mucous membranes, and excessive thirst.
What is dehydration or fluid volume deficit?
This is a type of freely movable joint that allows for a wide range of motion in the body.
What is a synovial joint?
Know the key features of and movement abilities of synovial joints.
This degenerative neurological disease has a gradual onset of memory loss, including behavior changes, as well as cognitive decline.
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
The Glascow Coma Scale (GCS) is an organized method to assess levels of consciousness. The scale is 3 to 15 and uses this formula. E+V+M.
E, V, and M are abbreviations for what assessments?
What is Eye Opening, Verbal Response, and Motor Response?
Ménière's disease is a chronic ___________ disorder characterized by a classic triad of symptoms:
Episodic vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
What is the inner ear?
This condition is a consequence of decreased plasma oncotic pressure due to low levels of this protein.
What is edema and albumin?
Know hydrostatic and oncotic pressure.
This disorder is more common in post-menopausal women due to lack of estrogen. It is a metabolic bone disease characterized by loss of mineralized bone mass and is believed to occur due to an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation and has a DEXA of -2.5 or lower.
What is osteoporosis?
In this degenerative neurological disease, the body's immune system attacks the myelin around the neuron axon.
What is multiple sclerosis?
In spinal cord injuries damage to this area can affect the phrenic nerve leading to respiratory arrest.
What is level C4? This is another reason why we protect C-spine in spinal cord injuries!
This sleep cycle results in a decrease in sympathetic tone and an increase in parasympathetic activity.
What is NREM?
Review the different physiological aspects of REM and NREM.
To compensate for alkalosis, the kidneys can do these two actions.
What is retain H+ and excrete bicarbonate?
Be familiar with how the lungs and kidneys compensate for pH imbalances.
The following symptoms indicate which form of arthritis: weight-bearing joints usually affected first, joint pain improves with rest in early stages, morning stiffness usually lasts less than 30 minutes, and Heberden and Bouchard nodes can appear in later stages.
What is osteoarthritis?
Know the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
This diagnosis is a result of auto-immune destruction of acetylcholine receptors in the neuromuscular junction. It results in muscle weakness. It can progress into a crisis causing difficulty swallowing and breathing.
What is myasthenia gravis?
Know the 4 C's of myasthenia gravis.
This type of hematoma is an arterial bleed in between the dura and the skull. The patient often has unconsciousness followed by a brief lucid period, followed by a rapid progression into unconsciousness again.
What is an epidural hematoma?
Know the different types of hematomas, their location descriptions, and characteristics.
This is the purpose of proprioceptors.
What is to sense the position and movement of body parts?
Interpret the following ABG:
pH: 7.21
paCO2: 68 mmHg
HCO3: 25 mEq/L
What is Respiratory Acidosis?
Be able to interpret ABGs.
The patient has suffered multiple fractures to the right lower extremity. The leg is very swollen. He has severe pain, paresthesias, diminished reflexes, and loss of motor function. The nurse suspects this is the underlying diagnosis.
What is compartment syndrome?
This disease involves painless muscle weakness and atrophy. Motor neurons decline and die, but the patient is still cognitively intact. As the disease progresses, people will have difficulty standing, moving, walking, swallowing, and speaking. Eventually, they lose their ability to breathe without the support of a ventilator.
What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?
Increased intracranial pressure can displace downward onto the brainstem, a life-threatening event. Cushing's triad includes these three symptoms.
What is bradycardia, bradypnea (abnormal respirations), and hypertension (widening pulse pressure)?
When a patient's temperature increases, vasodilation increases blood flow to the skin, allowing for heat loss. This is an example of ______________.
What is thermoregulation?
Review the different methods of thermoregulation:
(vasodilation, vasocontriction, sweating, shivering)