Vital signs

• Temperature
• pulse 
• blood pressure
• respiration

Reflects the balance between the heat gained/produced and heat lost from the body-measured in degrees

The temperature of deep tissues of body e.g pelvic cavity

remains constant

Temperature of skin, subcutaneous tissue and fat

Rises and falls in response to environment

36.5 to 37.2

body temp within normal range

body temp higher than 37.6

A body temperature above 40 degrees

Body temp below 35 degrees

Tympanic

• the ear, reflects core body temperature
• because the tympanic membrane(eardrum) shares it's blood supply with the hypothalamus

• Oral- can be inaccurate
• Axilla- takes long for accurate reading
• Rectum-accurate invasive
• Tympanic- core body

• Age
• Time

• Oral intake
• Exercise
• Environment
• Hormones
• Stress-stimulation

• A wave of pressure that can be felt -palpated
• when an artery crosses a bone

• At the wrist,
• Radial artery

the contraction of the left ventricle

The heartbeat

pulses located near the central of the body e.g. apical pulse located in the apex of the heart or carotid pulses located in the neck

pulses located away form heart

waist/foot/etc

• Radical pulse
• Carotid pulse
• Brachial pulse
• Apical pulse
• Temporal pulse
• Femoral pulse
• Popliteal pulse 
• Dorsalis pedis pulse
• Posterior Tibial pulse

• Age- decreases
• Exercise
• Stress
• Medication
• Pyrexia- because increased metabolic rate

Hypovolaemia- loss of blood from vascular system increases pulse rate as body attempts to compensate for blood lost.

The amount of pressure waves felt in one minute

bpm

60-80bpm

• rate
• rhythm
• volume

A fast heart rate (more then 100 bpm)

A slow heart rate ( less then 60 bpm)

Indicates whether a patients heart is beating regularly

Dysrhythmia or arrhythmia

Refers to the force of blood which can be felt with each pulsation.

By applying moderate pressure with two/three middle fingers of the hand

It is because already has a pulse

the rate/rhythm

Pyrexia/fever- because of Increased metabolic rate

The movement of air in and out of the lungs

• rate
• pattern
• depth
• quality

Abnormally fast respirations

Very slow respirations

• Cessation 
• more than 10-20 seconds

Refers to the volume of air that is inhaled and exhaled with each respiration

Difficult or laboured breathing

patient only able to breathe in upright sitting of standing

A high pitched abnormal audible sounds that occur on expiration when air moves through a narrowed/partially obstructed airway

• The force of blood inside the blood vessels against the vessel walls
•  measured in mmHg

The pulsing pressure from the heart

The peak pressure occurs when blood is ejected from the heart

When the heart relaxes, the blood remaining in the arteries exerts a minimum pressure

non-invasive sphygmomanometer and cuff