Named signs

A recovery score rating five things from 0 to 2 (activity, breathing, circulation, consciousness, oxygen saturation) to judge readiness to leave the PACU.

A bedside check of blood flow to the hand through the ulnar artery, done by pressing and releasing the wrist arteries.

With an infant lying on the back, hips and knees bent and feet flat, one knee sits lower than the other.

A 0-to-10 rating of a newborn's condition at 1 and 5 minutes after birth, based on five signs.

A small, often irregular pupil that narrows when the eyes focus on something near but does not narrow when light shines in it.

An upward movement of the big toe, with the other toes fanning out, when the sole of the foot is stroked.

A newborn hip exam in which the examiner brings the bent hip inward and presses gently back to feel whether it slips out of its socket.

A rounded chest shape in which the front-to-back depth is about as large as the side-to-side width.

Bruising over the bone just behind the ear.

Three findings together: low blood pressure, distended neck veins and muffled heart sounds.

Sudden weakness or loss of movement on one side of the face, from a problem with the facial nerve.

A breathing pattern of groups of quick, shallow breaths of similar depth, separated by irregular pauses with no breathing.

Abdominal pain that is worse when pressure is suddenly released than when it is applied.

Irregular tightening of the uterus during pregnancy that does not open the cervix; sometimes called practice contractions.

A test in which bending a client's neck forward makes the hips and knees bend on their own.

Small white, gray or light-brown spots arranged in a ring near the outer edge of the iris.

A round red rash with a lighter center and a red outer ring, so it looks like a target.

A red rash across both cheeks and the bridge of the nose, shaped like a butterfly.

A bluish or purplish color of the cervix, vagina and vulva in early pregnancy.

Three findings together: fever with chills, pain in the upper right abdomen, and jaundice.

A breathing pattern in which breaths grow deeper and then shallower in a repeating cycle, with pauses in breathing between cycles.

A twitch of the muscles of the face when the facial nerve, just in front of the ear, is tapped.

Vomit that is dark brown and grainy, like used coffee grounds.

A swollen gallbladder that can be felt through the abdomen but is not tender, in a person with jaundice.

Bluish or purplish bruising of the skin around the navel.

Stool made of dark red blood mixed with mucus, looking like red currant jelly.

A group of three findings: rising systolic blood pressure with a widening pulse pressure, a slowing pulse, and irregular breathing.

An empty, hollow feeling in the lower right abdomen when it is pressed.

Movement of the eyes in the opposite direction when the head is turned, so the eyes seem to stay looking straight ahead.

An ultrasound that uses sound waves to hear or show blood flowing through vessels or the fetal heartbeat.

A name for a disease, sign, instrument or other thing that is taken from a person, or sometimes from a place.

Small white or yellow bumps on a newborn's gums or the roof of the mouth.

Weakness or paralysis of one arm from stretching of the upper nerves of the brachial plexus, the nerve bundle between the neck and shoulder, usually at birth.

Softening of the cervix felt in early pregnancy.

A way of rising from the floor in which a child pushes on the thighs with the hands, "walking" the hands up the legs to stand.

A lab staining method that sorts bacteria into two groups by the color they turn under the microscope.

Bluish or purplish bruising of the skin of the flanks, the sides of the body between the ribs and the hips.

A ring of clear or pale yellow fluid around a central spot of blood when drainage dries on gauze or a sheet.

A crunching or crackling sound heard over the heart in time with the heartbeat.

Softening of the lower part of the uterus, felt by the examiner in early pregnancy.

Quick, upward thrusts into the upper abdomen to push out an object that is blocking a choking person's airway.

The weak area of the lower abdominal wall bounded by the rectus, the inferior epigastric vessels and the inguinal ligament; direct hernias occur here.

Pain in the calf when the foot is bent sharply upward with the knee straight.

An inherited brain disease in which certain nerve cells slowly break down over many years.

Small, widely spaced upper front teeth that are narrow at the biting edge, with a notch in the middle.

Small, flat, painless red or reddish-brown spots on the palms or the soles.

Pain at the tip of the left shoulder that is referred there from the abdomen.

Short, thin horizontal lines near the outer edges of the lower lungs on a chest x-ray.

Pain or resistance in the back of the thigh when the knee is straightened while the hip is bent at a right angle.

Tiny white or bluish-white spots on a red base on the inside of the cheeks.