Dictionary

Signs and symptoms

What a client reports and what a nurse observes, named the way charts and handoffs name them.

raccoon eyesBruising around both eyes, like a raccoon's mask.

radiateTo spread outward from one place to another, as pain can spread from where it starts.

rashAn area of skin that has changed in color or texture, often red, bumpy, scaly or itchy.

rebound tendernessPain that is worse when a hand pressing into the abdomen is quickly let go than when it is pressed in.

reddenedTurned red, used for skin or tissue that has become redder than normal.

referred painPain felt in a part of the body away from where the problem actually is.

reflexAn automatic body response to something that stimulates it, which happens without thought, such as the knee jerk.

regurgitationA flowing backward: blood leaking back through a heart valve, or stomach contents coming back up into the mouth.

respiratory depressionBreathing that is too slow or too shallow to move enough air in and out of the lungs.

respiratory distressDifficulty breathing severe enough that a person has to work hard to move air in and out.

retentionThe keeping in of something the body would normally let go, such as urine, fluid or stool.

retractionA drawing back or pulling in of tissue; in breathing, the skin sinking in between, below or above the ribs with each breath.

Reynolds pentadFive findings together: fever, pain in the upper right abdomen, jaundice, low blood pressure and confusion.

rhinorrheaA runny nose: thin fluid draining from the nose.

rhonchiLow-pitched, rumbling or snoring lung sounds heard with a stethoscope.

rigidityStiffness: a muscle, limb or the wall of the belly that resists being moved or pressed.

rousableAble to be woken up.

Rovsing signPain felt in the right lower abdomen when the examiner presses on the left lower abdomen.