Procedures and skills

A ring shape: either a ring of light seen around lights, or a metal ring fixed to the skull to hold the neck still.

Rules for handling tissue in surgery, set out by the surgeon William Halsted, such as gentle handling, control of bleeding and closing dead space.

A gesture a surgeon makes to ask the scrub for an instrument without speaking, such as for a knife, scissors, a suture, forceps or a clamp.

Open entry into the abdomen for laparoscopy: a small cut down through each layer, then a blunt cannula placed under direct view.

The top end of a hospital bed, where the client's head rests; orders often say how many degrees to raise it.

The information about a client's past and present health that a nurse or provider gathers by asking questions.

How many times the heart beats per minute.

Head, eyes, ears, nose and throat: a section of a physical exam or health history.

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

Surgery for achalasia that cuts the muscle of the lower esophageal sphincter and upper stomach, leaving the lining intact, so food can pass.

Surgery that removes the right or the left side of the colon.

A transfusion reaction in which the patient's antibodies destroy the donor's red blood cells, most often from blood of the wrong ABO type.

Surgery to remove swollen or prolapsed hemorrhoids from the anal canal.

Surgery that removes part of the liver, such as a segment or a lobe; also called a liver resection.

Surgical repair of a hernia.

A sitting position in bed with the head of the bed raised to about 60 to 90 degrees.

Care of the body to keep it clean and healthy, such as bathing, mouth care, hair and nail care.

A hollow needle with a beveled point and a hub that fits a syringe, used to inject drugs or draw up fluid.

Surgery to remove the pituitary gland or a tumor of it, most often through the nose and the sphenoid sinus.