 Vital Signs:  Various determinations that provide information about the basic body conditions of the patient.  Four Main Vital Signs 1. Temperature 2. Pulse 3. Respirations 4. Blood Pressure

 The measurement of the balance between heat lost and heat produced by the body.  Where can you measure it? 1. Oral (Mouth) 2. Rectal (Rectum) 3. Axillary (Armpit or Groin) 4. Temporal (Forehead) 5. Aural (Ear)

 Fahrenheit vs. Celsius  Page 415  Do you have to convert temperatures?  Homeostasis:  Ideal Health state of the body

 What may make the reading invalid?  What may make alter the reading?

 Oral Temperatures  Rectal Temperatures  Axillary Temperatures  Aural Temperatures

 The pressure of the blood felt against the wall of an artery as the heart contracts and relaxes (Heart beat)

 Rate:  Number of beats per minute  Rhythm:  Regularity  Volume:  Strength

 Practice Finding and Taking Pulse  Radial  Carotid  See if you can find all the other pulse sites on your body  Figure Page 432

 Taken with a stethoscope at the apex of the heart  The actual heart beat is heard and contracted  Why?  Infants  Abnormality  Issue

 The breathing rate of a patient  Regularity (Rhythm)  Character (Type)  Deep  Shallow  Labored  Difficult  Abnormal Sounds  How can we gather Respirations from our patient?

 Dyspnea: Difficult or labored breathing  Apnea: Absence of breathing  Tachypnea: Rapid, shallow breathing (25 +)  Bradypnea: Slow breathing rate (10 -)  Orthopnea: Severe dyspnea in which breathing is very difficult in any position other than sitting straight up or standing.

 Cheyne-Stokes:  Abnormal breathing pattern characterized by periods of dyspnea followed by periods of apnea.  Rales:  Bubbling or noisy sounds caused by fluids or mucous  Wheezing  Difficult breathing with a high pitched sound.  Cyanosis  A dusky, bluish discoloration of the skin, lips, or nails because of lack of oxygen in bloodstream

 How do you take and calculate respirations?  Procedure 15.4  Page  Video Clip

 The force exerted by the blood against the arterial walls when the heart contracts or relaxes  Systolic = Greatest Pressure  Diastolic = Least Pressure

 How do you take blood pressure?  Video Clip  Saint Anne’s

 Oral Temperatures  Rectal Temperatures  Axillary Temperatures  Aural Temperatures  Video Clip