Category: EMT
- To Understand the Infant, You Have to Understand the Fetus ()
Fetus Under Tremendous Pressure In order to deliver a complete baby out of a vagina, the newborn must be highly compressible. In order to be delivered, the fetus has to be squeezed to 1/2 to 1/3 it’s normal diameter. The ability to be crushed is a fascinating trait that follows the newborn all the way […]
- Newborns, Infants, and Toddlers ()
Newborns actually drop about 5 to 10 percent of their initial body weight in the first week of life. Within a few minutes of birth, the neonatal pulse is usually 30 – 40 beats per minute slower; likewise, the neonatal respiratory rate normally drops to under 40 breaths a minute. The decrease in breaths per […]
- Blood Pressure ()
Blood pressure is a standard vital sign that the EMS crew will collect for nearly all patients. Generally speaking, EMS concerns about blood pressure tend to end with the systolic blood pressure. As a whole, the EMS community is not terribly concerned with hypertension (high blood pressure), but extremely concerned with hypotension (low blood pressure). […]
- Respiratory Compromise ()
A patient who is experiencing respiratory distress can develop respiratory compromise. It is the goal of the EMS crew to delay or reverse respiratory compromise. Failure reverse respiratory compromise will result in respiratory failure. Exactly when the patient transitions to respiratory compromise from respiratory distress is not entirely defined, however some changes in the function […]
- Microcirculation ()
Capillaries do not function independently. The capillary bed is an interwoven network of capillaries that supplies an organ. The more metabolically active the cells, the more capillaries required to supply nutrients and carry away waste products. A capillary bed can consist of two types of vessels: true capillaries, which branch mainly from arterioles and provide […]
- Influence of the Nervous System On Cardiac Output ()
Maintaining blood pressure is a complicated challenge that is handled very effectively by regulatory processes orchestrated primarily by the autonomic nervous system. These regulatory processes must operate over time scales ranging from very quick responses to changes in posture (e.g., a decrease in blood pressure when standing up) to responses to slower changes in blood […]
- How People Die: Cardiogenic Shock ()
Cardiogenic shock is a medical emergency resulting from inadequate blood flow due to the dysfunction of the ventricles of the heart. Signs of inadequate blood flow include low urine production (<30 mL/hour), cool arms and legs, and altered level of consciousness. People may also have a severely low blood pressure and heart rate. Causes of […]
- Cardiac Output ()
Cardiac output, expressed in liters/minute, is the amount of blood the heart pumps in 1 minute. Cardiac output is logically equal to the product of the stroke volume and the number of beats per minute (heart rate). Easy enough, one may think, but the term cardiac in cardiac output is potentially misleading – with clinician’s […]
- Forces That Move Blood Through Capillaries ()
The capillary is the site of fluid exchange with the body’s tissues. This fluid transfer is moderated by two factors: hydrostatic pressure and osmotic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure is the “pushing” force on water due to the presence of more fluid in one region than another. In general, larger fluid volumes generate higher hydrostatic pressure. Osmotic […]
- Gas Transport Disturbances ()
Oxygen Transport Disturbances The oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin determines how much oxygen is carried in the blood. Other environmental factors and diseases can affect oxygen carrying capacity and delivery. Carbon dioxide levels, blood pH, and body temperature affect oxygen-carrying capacity. When carbon dioxide is in the blood, it reacts with water to form bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. As […]