Word parts
What it means
Used most often for the neurovascular check: a nurse's assessment of a limb's blood flow and nerve function. It covers color, temperature, capillary refill, pulses, swelling, feeling, movement and pain, and the limb is compared with the other side. It is done after fractures, casts, traction and surgery on a limb.
For the nurse
Check below the injury or cast often, as ordered, and compare both sides. Report at once pain that keeps rising despite medicine, numbness or tingling, a cool, pale or blue limb, or a weak or missing pulse, since these can mean compartment syndromekum-PART-ment SIN-drohmA buildup of pressure inside a closed group of muscles that cuts off their blood supply.Full entry .
In a chart
"Neurovascular checks to right foot every hour: warm, pink, cap refill under 3 seconds, moves toes, sensation intact."
Related terms
neur/o
A word root that means nerve or the nervous system.
perfusion
The flow of blood through the body's tissues, bringing them oxygen and nutrients.
compartment syndrome
A buildup of pressure inside a closed group of muscles that cuts off their blood supply.
fasciotomy
Surgery that cuts open the fascia, the tough tissue around a group of muscles, to relieve pressure inside it.