Flashcards: Emergency medicine

A minimally conscious state (MCS) is a disorder of consciousness distinct from persistent vegetative state and locked-in syndrome.

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient.

Pulseless electrical activity (PEA), also known by as electromechanical dissociation, refers to cardiac arrest in which a heart rhythm is observed on the electrocardiogram that should be producing a pulse, but is not.

An air embolism, also known as a gas embolism, is an embolism or blood vessel blockage caused by one or more bubbles of air or gas in the circulatory system.

Circulatory shock, commonly known as shock, is a life-threatening medical condition of low blood perfusion to tissues resulting in cellular injury and inadequate tissue function.

Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning or hyperhydration, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by overhydration.

Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from abnormal breathing.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has traveled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism).

Heat illness or heat-related illness is a spectrum of disorders due to environmental exposure to heat.

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), also known as multiple organ failure (MOF), total organ failure (TOF) or multisystem organ failure (MSOF), is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), also known as disseminated intravascular coagulopathy or less commonly as consumptive coagulopathy, is a pathological process characterized by the widespread activation of the clotting cascade that results in the formation of blood clots in the small blood vessels throughout the body.

Pulmonary edema is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs.

Cerebral edema or cerebral oedema is excess accumulation of fluid in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the brain.

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a potentially fatal illness caused by a bacterial toxin.

Drowning is defined as respiratory impairment from being in or under a liquid.

The International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) is the organization that holds the International Conference on Emergency Medicine (ICEM), a biennial conference on international emergency medicine for emergency physicians.

Mechanical ventilation is the medical term for artificial ventilation where mechanical means is used to assist or replace spontaneous breathing.

Nancy Lee Caroline, (June 27, 1944 - December 12, 2002), was an American physician and writer who worked in emergency medical services (EMS).

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a neurological scale which aims to give a reliable and objective way of recording the conscious state of a person for initial as well as subsequent assessment.

The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) is a professional medical association of emergency medicine physicians concerned with the "corporate practice of medicine" and the negative consequences related to patient care.

The World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) is an international organization concerned with disaster medicine.

A confidential incident reporting system is a mechanism which allows problems in safety-critical fields such as aviation and medicine to be reported in confidence.

Lazarus syndrome, also known as autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is the spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation.

Myocardial rupture is a laceration or tearing of the wall of the ventricles or atria of the heart, of the interatrial or interventricular septum, or of the papillary muscles.

The Suffolk Accident Rescue Service (SARS) is a registered charity which assists the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust in providing medical care at the scene of emergencies in Suffolk and surrounding counties.

Coma is a state of unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened; fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound; lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle; and does not initiate voluntary actions.

A resuscitative hysterotomy, also referred to as a perimortem Caesarean section (PMCS) or perimortem Caesarean delivery (PMCD), is a hysterotomy performed to resuscitate a woman in middle to late pregnancy who has entered cardiac arrest.

Brain death is the complete and irreversible loss of brain function (including involuntary activity necessary to sustain life).

An emergency physician is a physician who works at an emergency department to care for acutely ill patients.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is an independent professional association of emergency physicians in the United Kingdom which sets standards of training and administers examinations for emergency medicine in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The following is a list of symptoms and conditions that signal or constitute a possible Wilderness medical emergency.