Vital Signs
Chapter 27
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Chapter 27
Lesson 27.1
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
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
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Pronounce, define, and spell the Key Terms.
List the four vital signs commonly taken in the
dental office.
Describe how metabolism affects a patient’s
vital signs.
Discuss three types of thermometers.
Take an oral temperature reading with the
use of a digital thermometer.
(Cont’d)
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
(Cont’d)



List the sites used for taking a pulse.
Describe the characteristics of patient’s pulse
that you would look for.
Take a patient’s pulse.
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Attentiveness to a patient’s immediate health should
be the first priority of every healthcare provider.
Vital signs can provide you with a means of
determining
a patient’s health status. They include temperature,
pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Factors Affecting Vital Signs
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Emotional factors
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Stress
Fear
Physical factors


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Illness
Drinking or eating
Exercise
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Temperature
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
Degree of the hotness or coldness of the
body
Readings
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Average range for an adult: 97.6° to 99° F
Normally higher in infants and children than in
adults.
Thermometer types


Electronic
Tympanic
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Fig. 27-1 Digital thermometer.
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Fig. 27-2 Tympanic thermometer.
(Courtesy of Welch Allyn, Skaneateles Falls, N.Y.)
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Pulse
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The pulse is a rhythmic expansion of
an artery each time the heart beats.
The pulse may be taken at various
sites:
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

Radial artery: inner surface of wrist
Brachial artery: inner fold of the upper
arm
Carotid artery: alongside the larynx
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Fig. 27-4 Location of the radial artery.
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Fig. 27-5 Location of the brachial artery.
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Fig. 27-6 Location of the carotid artery.
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Pulse Characteristics
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Rate: umber of beats
Rhythm: pattern of beats
Volume: force of beats
(Cont’d)
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Pulse Characteristics
(Cont’d)
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Readings
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Adult resting: 60 to 100 beats per minute
 Child: 70 to 120 beats per minute
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Irregularity

Arrhythmia: an irregularity in the force or rhythm of
the heartbeat
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 27
Lesson 27.2
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives



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

Describe the characteristics of respiration and
how they affect a patient’s breathing.
Discuss the best way to obtain accurate
readings of respiration.
Take a patient’s respiration.
Explain the importance of taking a patient’s
blood pressure.
Differentiate the Korotkoff sounds heard when
taking a patient’s blood pressure.
Take a patient’s blood pressure.
Copyright © 2009, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Respiration
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The process of inhaling and exhaling, or
breathing
Characteristics
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Rate: total number of breaths per minute
Rhythm: breathing pattern
Depth: amount of air inhaled and exhaled
Readings
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Adult: 10 to 20 breaths per minute
Children and teenagers: 18 to 30 breaths per
minute
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Blood Pressure
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Blood pressure reflects the amount of work
the heart has to do to pump blood throughout
the body.
Two pressures of the heart:

Systolic: Reflects the amount of pressure it takes
for the left ventricle of the heart to compress or
push oxygenated blood out into the blood vessels.
 Diastolic: The heart muscle at rest when it is
allowing the heart to take in blood to be
oxygenated before the next contraction.
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Table 27-1 Blood Pressure Classifications for Adults
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Blood Pressure Equipment
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Sphygmomanometer
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Blood pressure cuff
Meter
Rubber bulb
Stethoscope

Amplifies sounds
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Fig. 27-8 Types of sphygmomanometers. A, Aneroid
(without liquid) dial system. B, Aneroid floor model.
(From Young A, Proctor D: Kinn’s The medical assistant: an applied learning approach, ed 9, St Louis, 2003, Saunders.)
A
B
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Fig. 27-9 Stethoscope.
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Table 27-2 Five Phases of Korotkoff
Sounds in Blood Pressure Measurement
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Additional Techniques
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Electrocardiography: tracing of the
heart’s activity, set forth in an
electrocardiogram (ECG)

Commonly performed in the hospital setting
 Amplifies the natural electrical currents generated
by the impulses of the heart
 Records a series of waves
 Each deflection corresponds to a particular part
of the cardiac cycle
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Fig. 27-11 The cardiac cycle on the ECG.
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