Can You Pass a Basic Paramedic Exam?

"LOC" generally refers to two phrases in the EMT world: "loss of consciousness" or "level of consciousness." This is usually written on forms to describe a patient's condition.

A patient in a "supine" position is lying on their back. This position allows medical professionals to assess injuries or ailments more easily. A patient lying on their stomach is said to be "prone."

Often called the "food pipe," the esophagus connects the mouth with the stomach. Food travels down this pipe using gravity as well as peristaltic contractions. In adults, the esophagus is around 25 centimeters long.

A patient suffering a spinal injury might go into a state of neurogenic shock. This is a result of the damage to the autonomic pathways. These are found within your spinal cord. A patient suffering from neurogenic shock can suffer from a slower heart rate as well as a lowering of their blood pressure.

The brain and spinal cord are covered by three membranes. If these are inflamed, this will cause a stiff, sore neck, fever and vomiting. This can be very serious and should be dealt with by a medical professional as soon as possible.

A "MICU," or Mobile Intensive Care Unit, is a vehicle outfitted with apparatuses that offer advanced life support to patients en route to the hospital. This offers critically injured patients a greater chance of survival.

Often, when an EMT first encounters a patient, they do not know what their ailments are. In some cases, a patient may be able to tell them, while in others, the patient might have lost consciousness. The most important thing to first assess is whether they have an open airway and are able to breathe on their own. The rest follows from there.

The carpal bones are found in your hands. There are eight in each hand, and together, they form your wrist. The carpals create the connection between the wrist and the forearm. These bones allow your wrist to rotate and move.

A "C-collar," or cervical collar, is a piece of equipment that is used to stabilize the neck of a patient. It is used when patients have suspected C-spine injuries. It is important that this patient (and especially the patient's neck) is moved very little. The "C-collar" provides the necessary support needed to get them to a hospital.

Proximal is a term used in medicine to help with spatial orientation. In terms of the human body, it describes the points close to the body midline. In other words, splitting the body down the middle into left and right sections.

"Bagging" is using a "Bag Valve Mask” to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing adequately. This is to ensure they have enough oxygen in their system.

The sole of the foot is described as the "plantar" in medical speak. People sometimes suffer from a condition called plantar fasciitis, which is a pain in the underside of the heel. This is usually a result of inflammation in the tissue at the bottom of the foot.

When multiple patients are involved (in a massive pile-up on the highway, for instance), they are assessed and placed in a triage order. Those with life-threatening injuries (called "red" patients) are dealt with first, while those with scrapes and bruises (called "green" patients) are dealt with last.

Also called the chest cavity, the thoracic space is where you will find two major organs in the human body: the heart and the lungs. This cavity also contains the bones that protect these vital organs, namely the rib cage. Lastly, it's home to the cardiovascular system.

The "Trendelenburg position" has a patient lying on their back. Their legs are positioned above their head in the horizontal, as they are on a 15- to 30-degree incline. The reverse of this is also possible, but this sees the head raised higher than the feet. This position is often used in surgery around the pelvic area because it moves other organs away from the area through gravity.

Advanced Life Support is the care given to a patient by paramedics prior to transporting them to the hospital. This is different from basic or intermediate life support, as ALS paramedics are able to administer drugs when needed.

A patient in the anatomical position is standing up with their feet facing forward. Their eyes are looking straight in front of them and their arms are at their sides, palms facing outward. This can be used as a starting point when administering help to a patient who is able to stand.

"A&Ox3" means alert and oriented times three. This says the patient is alert and oriented around person, place and time, meaning they know who they are, where they are and the time period.

The "C-spine" refers to the cervical spine (or neck), which is comprised of seven vertebrae (C1-C7). It also houses the spinal cord. It is not only strong, but flexible as well.

"PERRLA" is an acronym for Pupils are Equal, Round and Reactive to Light and Accommodation. It helps medical staff remember what to check for when examining pupils. It also gives a sense of whether the patient knows what is going on around them.

An "AED," or Automated External Defibrillator, is a portable device used to check heart rhythm and treat sudden cardiac arrest. This piece of equipment is nothing short of a life-saver.

When listening to the lungs using a stethoscope, any crackling, rattling or clicking sounds are called rales. The sounds are caused by small airways popping open after they have been collapsed by a fluid. These crackles could indicate a number of respiratory problems.

Helping patients injured in an accident is part of an EMT's everyday duties. They would describe the patient as having been in an "MVA," or motor vehicle accident. This is also sometimes called an "MVC," or motor vehicle collision.

Febrile seizures are often seen in infants suffering from a high fever. The seizures cause the child to convulse uncontrollably, shaking all their limbs. They may lose consciousness as well.

The femur connects the thigh joint with the knee joint. It is the longest bone in the human body. It is also incredibly tough; in fact, it is the toughest bone in the human body. The femur is the only bone in the upper leg.

Both airtight and watertight, an occlusive dressing is used in trauma. Thanks to a waxy coating, the bandages are used to seal wounds and will not absorb blood like a gauze would.

Adults will take anything from 12 to 20 breaths a minute. This is often related to their physical condition in terms of their overall fitness as well as their age. It's measured when the person is in a resting state, because any exercise--even walking--will raise the number of times they take in air over a sixty-second period.

Without your retina, you simply wouldn't see. Eye optics create a two-dimensional image of what you are looking at and this is projected onto the retina. In turn, our brains create a visual perception as the image is formed through electrical neural impulses.

The trachea splits into the left and right bronchi in your lungs. Interestingly, the right bronchi is shorter and wider than the left bronchi. Lung illnesses are often a result of problems with the bronchi. For example, asthma is caused by hyper-responsiveness of these two pipes.

The heart consists of four chambers. One of these is the right atrium, which is tasked with passing blood through to the right ventricle. The blood carries no oxygen at this point. It then leaves the right ventricle and passes to the lungs where it receives oxygen and the cycle starts again.

The tragus forms part of your ear. It is the small protrusion on the inner part of your ear that protects the opening to your hearing channels. The also aids our hearing, especially with sounds that happen behind us.

In medicine, the body is often portioned off using imaginary lines. For example, the anterior median line passes down the center of the chest, cutting the body in half (not literally, of course). There are two other imaginary lines running parallel to the left and right of it. These pass roughly through the nipples and are called the midclavicular lines.

A pregnant woman suffering from placenta previa has part of her placenta covering her cervix. This can cause problems as it will be difficult for the baby to pass into the birth canal. Normally, in cases such as this, the baby will be delivered by caesarian section.

No, although the left ventricle does pump blood, it is not tasked with pumping it into the pulmonary artery, but into the the aorta. The left ventricle is one of the four chambers of the human heart.