Glossary
Swan-Ganz catheter
Called pulmonary artery catheter
A large tube in the neck or upper chest that goes into the heart. The care team use this tube to measure fluid levels in the heart. This helps them assess how well the heart is working. Having a pulmonary artery catheter after open heart surgery is common.
Therapy
Medical treatment that takes place over a period of time. Therapy restores or cures a function of the body (for example, destroys cancer cells, heals wounds).
Tracheostomy
A temporary or permanent tube in the neck, usually for patients who are on a breathing machine for a long time. Other breathing tubes cause injury over time. A tracheostomy can also help the patient get off of the breathing machine.
Trauma center
A hospital for treating injury caused by crashes and violence. Other hospitals may be less prepared to treat such severe injuries.
Triage
A process that helps the care team decide whom to treat and when so the sickest patients are seen first.
Tube feeding
Giving food in the form of liquid through a tube. The tube goes from the nose to the stomach. It can also go through the skin directly into the stomach or intestines. Patients need tube feedings when they are not able to eat or lack nutrients. A tube feeding is safer and less expensive than an intravenous feeding, but it requires the patient to have a working stomach and intestines.
Ulcer
A sore that wears away tissue. An ulcer can occur on the skin but most often occurs inside of the body in the gastrointestinal tract, which is known as the GI tract. The GI tract is a set of organs, including the stomach, that digests food and separates nutrients from waste. An ulcer in the GI tract can create a hole in the stomach lining and cause blood vessels to burst.
Vasopressor
Called pressor
A powerful drug that causes blood vessels to get smaller. It raises the patient's blood pressure.
Ventilator
Called respirator or breathing machine
A machine that assists the patient with breathing when he or she is having trouble breathing. The machine pumps air into and out of the lungs, like the way a healthy person inhales and exhales. The patient is connected to it by a tube through his or her mouth or nose and is usually sedated. Sedation calms the patient so he or she does not fight against the machine.
The care team will take the patient off of this device slowly, as his or her lungs get better. Patients who need a ventilator for a long time often get a tube placed in their neck.
Ventriculostomy
During this medical procedure, a tube is placed through the skull into the brain. Ventriculostomy helps the care team assess the amount of pressure around the brain. It also helps them remove extra fluid or blood from there, if necessary.
Voluntary
When the brain sends a message to the body to do something, such as lifting an arm. The patient has control.
Weaning
The care team "wean" or slowly lower the amount of help the patient has with breathing or from medicine. Weaning keeps the patient safe, in case he or she has become dependent on that help.
Wound therapy
Medical treatment for healing cur or broken body tissue, such as skin. During wound therapy, the care team clean and apply medicine or nutrients to the wound. Wounds in a healthy person naturally heal over time in these three stages:
- The wound swells to get rid of any debris.
- The wound grows, and new cells replace damaged ones.
- The wound forms a scar (stronger tissue) to prevent future damage.
Some wounds do not heal naturally over time, such as ulcers. Would therapy heals many types of ulcers, especially the ones on the patient's skin.