Medical Law Terminology
A private or civil wrong or injury, other than breach of contract, for which the court provides a remedy in the form of an action for damages.
Tort
Duty to tell the truth and avoid deception.
Veracity
Someone admitted to the hospital for diagnostic studies or treatment.
Inpatient
Listening to sounds of the body typically by a stethoscope.
Auscultation
Abnormal drowsiness or stupor.
Lethargy
Occurs when a patient believes he or she has been threatened in such a way that reason to fear or to expect immediate bodily harm exists.
Assault
Systematic study of rightness and wrongness of human conduct and character as known by natural reason.
Ethics
Patient who comes to a health care facility for diagnosis or treatment but does not usually occupy a bed overnight.
Outpatient
Profuse sweating.
Diaphoresis
Illusion of movement; dizziness.
Vertigo
Any unlawful touching of another that is without justification or excuse.
Battery
Generally accepted customs, principles, or habits of right living and conduct in a society and the individual's practice in relation to these.
Morals
Ability to evaluate, perceive, and control emotions.
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Photoelectric device used for determining the oxygen saturation of the blood.
Pulse Oximeter
Temporary suspension of consciousness as a result of generalized cerebral ischemia; fainting.
Syncope
Failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent person would use under like or similar circumstances.
Negligence
Ethical principle that places high value on avoiding harm to others.
Nonmaleficence
Legal document prepared by a living, competent adult to provide guidance to the health care team if the individual should become unable to make decisions regarding his or her medical care.
Advance Directive
A vascular reaction marked by development of wheals: also called hives.
Urticaria
Refers to a situation in which a patient's sutures separate.
Wound Dehiscence
Conscious restraint of the freedom of a person without proper authorization, privilege, or consent.
False imprisonment
Belief that actions themselves, rather than consequences, determine the worth of actions.
Nonconsequentialism
Music of language; often considered a form of nonverbal communication.
Paralanguage
A nosebleed.
Epistaxis
A carrier that transfers an infective agent from one host to another.
Vector