Vital signs
Name the four major vital signs.
Temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure
Normal core temperature is approximately this value.
37°C or 98.6°F
A heart rate below 60 bpm is called this.
Bradycardia
What is the normal adult respiratory rate?
12-20 breaths/min
Name the four components of the physical examination of the chest and lungs.
Inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation
This measurement is sometimes referred to as the “fifth vital sign.”
SpO2
An increase in body temperature causes this vascular response.
Vasodilation
A pulse rate greater than 100 bpm in an adult is called this.
Tachycardia
This is the primary muscle of breathing.
Diaphragm
This part of the physical examination involves touching the patient’s chest.
Palpation
An SpO₂ of 92% falls into this category.
Mild hypoxemia
A decrease in body temperature causes this response.
Vasoconstriction
Blood pressure below this value is considered hypotension according to the chapter.
90/60 mm Hg
Under normal circumstances, inspiration is ______ while expiration is ______.
Active and Passive
Palpation can evaluate chest expansion, tracheal position, skin temperature, tenderness, and these vibrations transmitted through the chest.
Tactile and vocal fremitus
A patient has an SpO₂ of 88%. Classify the patient’s oxygenation according to the ranges in this chapter.
Moderate hypoxemia
Name the four common types of fever identified in the chapter.
Intermittent, remittent, relapsing, and constant fever
A patient’s blood pressure drops rapidly when they stand from a lying or sitting position. What is this called?
Orthostatic hypotension
Name five abnormal breathing patterns from the chapter.
Bradypnea, tachypnea, apnea, hypoventilation, hyperventilation, hyperpnea, Cheyne-Stokes, Kussmaul’s, or Biot’s respirations
To assess chest excursion, the therapist places their hands over the posterolateral chest with the thumbs meeting at the midline around these vertebral levels.
T8 - T10
Match all four SpO₂ ranges: normal, mild, moderate, and severe hypoxemia.
Normal: 95–99%
Mild: 91–94%
Moderate: 86–90%
Severe: ≤85%
A patient is cold, hypotensive, disoriented, has decreased respirations and pulse, and has pale/bluish cool waxy skin. What condition should you suspect?
Hypothermia
During inspiration, a patient’s systolic BP falls more than 10 mm Hg compared with expiration. What finding is present?
Pulses paradoxus
A patient demonstrates an abnormal respiratory pattern. You identify it as either Cheyne-Stokes, Kussmaul’s, or Biot’s respiration. What broad category do all three belong to in this chapter?
Abnormal breathing patterns
Explain the difference between tactile fremitus and vocal fremitus.
Tactile fremitus is vibration percwives by palpating the chest. Vocal fremitus refers to vibrations perceived by palpation or auscultation during phonation.