V
Key
Green: is a medical procedure.
Orange is medicine.
Blue are diseases and conditions.
Purple is equipment.
Black is "other".
- V -
▪ Vancomycin: A powerful broad-spectrum antibiotic. It is often used as an antibiotic of last resort for resistant forms of bacteria. It is the only known antibiotic that is still effective against the form of Staphylococcus known as MRSA. However, there have been cases of Vancomycin resistant staph in hospital settings, although these are still rare. It is also quite expensive. A typical daily dose costs several hundred dollars, as compared to a daily dose of Penicillin, which costs literally pennies.
▪ Vasculitis: Any one of a number of diseases that causes inflammation of the blood vessels. This inflammation affects the vessel itself, and can cause damage such as thinning, thickening or scarring of the vessels. In severe cases, blood flow to the affected areas can be restricted, leading to tissue damage and possibly death.
▪ Viagra: A drug which acts to relax muscles that control the flow of blood, allowing blood to flow more easily through many parts of the body. Although it is often used to treat high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, its primary use is to treat male erectile dysfunction.
▪ Vicodin: A prescription analgesic and narcotic. Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic opioid analgesic, synthesised from Codeine and Thebaine and is used to relieve mild to moderate pain. As a narcotic, hydrocodone relieves pain by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord. It can be taken with or without food as desired. When taken with alcohol, it can intensify drowsiness. It may interact with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, as well as other drugs that cause drowsiness. Common side effects include dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, drowsiness, euphoria, vomiting, and constipation. Some less common side effects are allergic reaction, blood disorders, changes in mood, mental fogginess, anxiety, lethargy, difficulty urinating, spasm of the ureter, irregular or depressed respiration and rash.
▪ Vital Signs: the four core bodily functions that are monitored in critical patients, generally with electronic monitors that sound an alarm when one of the signs is outside even an extreme range. The four signs are:
- Heart rate: Generally the pulse detected at the tip of the right index finger. This tends to be a more reliable indicator of health and circulation than the rate at the heart. It should not fall below 50 or rise above 120 in a patient at rest, and should remain steady.
- Respiration rate: This should be about 15 per minute. Too fast indicates respiratory distress. Too low indicates impending respiratory arrest.
- Blood pressure: measured at regular intervals by an automatically inflated cuff around the upper right arm. Ideally, it should be 120/80, but any lower figure from 60-100 is generally acceptable. If it drops lower, the patient will probably go into cardiac arrest. Too high and the patient will most likely suffer a stroke.
- Blood oxygenation: Should remain well over 90% (99-100% is normal). If it drops lower, the patient will most likely suffer cardiac arrest.
▪ Vitamin K Deficiency: a very rare vitamin deficiency. Vitamin K is important in the body's use and uptake of certain types of proteins known as Gla-proteins that are responsible for the proper clotting of blood, the formation of bones, and maintaining blood vessels. The body extracts Vitamin K from food using the bacteria usually found in the intestines. If digestive processes are badly compromised, such as the death of the bacteria (from antibiotics, for example), the blockage of the bile duct, or massive intestinal damage, the body cannot use dietary Vitamin K and the symptoms appear.
▪ Vomit: A mixture of stomach acid, water and undigested food that is expelled from the stomach up through the esophagus as the result of nausea. Vomitting is a typical reaction to the ingestion of certain poisons, food poisoning, dizziness, drug withdrawal and chemotherapy.
By Letter
| A | | B | | C | | D | | E | | F | | G | | H | | I | | J | | K | | L | | M |
| N | | O | | P | | Q | | R | | S | | T | | U | | V | | W | | X | | Y | | Z |
Green: is a medical procedure.
Orange is medicine.
Blue are diseases and conditions.
Purple is equipment.
Black is "other".
- V -
▪ Vancomycin: A powerful broad-spectrum antibiotic. It is often used as an antibiotic of last resort for resistant forms of bacteria. It is the only known antibiotic that is still effective against the form of Staphylococcus known as MRSA. However, there have been cases of Vancomycin resistant staph in hospital settings, although these are still rare. It is also quite expensive. A typical daily dose costs several hundred dollars, as compared to a daily dose of Penicillin, which costs literally pennies.
▪ Vasculitis: Any one of a number of diseases that causes inflammation of the blood vessels. This inflammation affects the vessel itself, and can cause damage such as thinning, thickening or scarring of the vessels. In severe cases, blood flow to the affected areas can be restricted, leading to tissue damage and possibly death.
▪ Viagra: A drug which acts to relax muscles that control the flow of blood, allowing blood to flow more easily through many parts of the body. Although it is often used to treat high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, its primary use is to treat male erectile dysfunction.
▪ Vicodin: A prescription analgesic and narcotic. Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic opioid analgesic, synthesised from Codeine and Thebaine and is used to relieve mild to moderate pain. As a narcotic, hydrocodone relieves pain by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord. It can be taken with or without food as desired. When taken with alcohol, it can intensify drowsiness. It may interact with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, as well as other drugs that cause drowsiness. Common side effects include dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, drowsiness, euphoria, vomiting, and constipation. Some less common side effects are allergic reaction, blood disorders, changes in mood, mental fogginess, anxiety, lethargy, difficulty urinating, spasm of the ureter, irregular or depressed respiration and rash.
▪ Vital Signs: the four core bodily functions that are monitored in critical patients, generally with electronic monitors that sound an alarm when one of the signs is outside even an extreme range. The four signs are:
- Heart rate: Generally the pulse detected at the tip of the right index finger. This tends to be a more reliable indicator of health and circulation than the rate at the heart. It should not fall below 50 or rise above 120 in a patient at rest, and should remain steady.
- Respiration rate: This should be about 15 per minute. Too fast indicates respiratory distress. Too low indicates impending respiratory arrest.
- Blood pressure: measured at regular intervals by an automatically inflated cuff around the upper right arm. Ideally, it should be 120/80, but any lower figure from 60-100 is generally acceptable. If it drops lower, the patient will probably go into cardiac arrest. Too high and the patient will most likely suffer a stroke.
- Blood oxygenation: Should remain well over 90% (99-100% is normal). If it drops lower, the patient will most likely suffer cardiac arrest.
▪ Vitamin K Deficiency: a very rare vitamin deficiency. Vitamin K is important in the body's use and uptake of certain types of proteins known as Gla-proteins that are responsible for the proper clotting of blood, the formation of bones, and maintaining blood vessels. The body extracts Vitamin K from food using the bacteria usually found in the intestines. If digestive processes are badly compromised, such as the death of the bacteria (from antibiotics, for example), the blockage of the bile duct, or massive intestinal damage, the body cannot use dietary Vitamin K and the symptoms appear.
▪ Vomit: A mixture of stomach acid, water and undigested food that is expelled from the stomach up through the esophagus as the result of nausea. Vomitting is a typical reaction to the ingestion of certain poisons, food poisoning, dizziness, drug withdrawal and chemotherapy.
By Letter
| A | | B | | C | | D | | E | | F | | G | | H | | I | | J | | K | | L | | M |
| N | | O | | P | | Q | | R | | S | | T | | U | | V | | W | | X | | Y | | Z |