NURSING GLOSSARY

N° Word Meaning

01 Admission Collecting patient details when a patient goes into hospital

02 Allergy When the body reacts badly to a drug, food or other substance

03 Anaesthetic A drug that makes you unable to feel pain

04 Blood pressure The pressure of blood in the arteries, abbreviated to BP

05 Blood pressure cuff A device which wraps around a patient’s arm to take blood pressure

06 Care The process of protecting someone or something and providing what that person or
thing needs

To protect someone or something and provide the things they need

07 Digital blood pressure A machine that takes a patient’s blood pressure and pulse
monitor

08 Dressing A covering which is placed over a wound to help healing

(Medical Gauze)

09 Handover Handover is the process of transferring pertinent patient information and clinical
responsibility between health care practitioners.

10 ID bracelet A plastic wristband which records patient information and is worn whilst the patient
is in hospital for identification, also called patient armband

11 IV cannula A flexible tube that is inserted into a blood vessel to give medicine or another liquid,
also called Venflon and also abbreviated to IVC (intravenous cannula)

12 IV infusion pump A machine which pumps a certain volume of fluid through an intravenous (IV) line

13 IV line A tube which connects IV fluid in the IV bag to a cannula in the patient

14 IV pole A long metal stick for hanging IV bags, it often has wheels

15 IV solution A liquid containing medicine or another substance which is usually contained in a

litre bag, also called a bag

16 Nurse The title given to a person whose job is to care for people who are ill or injured,
especially in a hospital

17 Nurse call A buzzer which patients press to call for a nurse

18 Oxygen mask A device worn over the nose and mouth which allows the patient to breathe oxygen
from a storage tank into the lungs

19 Pain relief Medication which reduces pain, also called analgesia

20 Patient A person who is receiving medical care, or who is cared for by a particular doctor or
dentist when necessary

21 Prime the line To make sure that only IV fluid, no air, is inside an IV line

22 Pulse The contraction and expansion of an artery due to blood circulation; the speed of the
pulse is called the pulse rate or heart rate

23 Pulse oximeter A device that measures a patient’s blood oxygen saturation, usually attached to the
fingertip

24 Respirations The number of breaths a person takes each minute; usually expressed as the
respiration rate, abbreviated to resps

25 Sats A measure of how much oxygen the blood is carrying; a percentage of the maximum
 NURSING GLOSSARY
oxygen molecules the blood can carry. SAT (Abbrevi. Saturation)

26 Sterilize medical A vital element of modern medical care. To clean pieces is necessary to avoid the
equipment possibility of disease spreading from patient to patient.

27 Sticking plaster Surgical tape or medical tape is a type of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape used in
medicine and first aid to hold a bandage or other dressing onto a wound.
Adhesive tape

28 Stretcher A light frame made from two long poles with a cover of soft material stretched
between them, used for carrying people who are ill, injured, or dead

29 Syringe A piece of medical equipment used to push liquid into or take liquid out of
someone’s body

30 Temperature How hot or cold a patient is, measured in °C, abbreviated to temp

31 Tourniquet A strip of cloth that is tied tightly around an injured arm or leg to stop it bleeding

32 Tympanic thermometer A thermometer that is used in a patient’s ear

33 Vital signs The vital signs– heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate, and
pain – communicate important information about the physiological status of a patient