Category: P

The average pressure in the alveoli during the brief pause that follows an inhaled breath.  

The maximum pressure in the lungs during inhalation.  

In a gas containing several different components, the pressure exerted by each component. The force applied by an individual gas within a gas mixture is referred to as its partial pressure. The partial pressure of a gas is directly related to its concentration in the overall mixture. According to Dalton’s law of partial pressure, the…

A congenital defect of both pedicles of the fifth lumbar vertebra without displacement, predisposing the individual to spondylolisthesis.  

Presence at work without contributing to the productivity of the institution. The term is used to describe such behavior as working while ill or distracted from one’s primary tasks, and thus in a less than fully functional mode; or logging excessive hours at work in an effort to impress coworkers or managers.  

The time of life that precedes old age, typically the years before age 65.  

The limited authority to prescribe certain medications according to established protocol. In the U.S., prescriptive authority has been granted to advanced practice nurses, optometrists, osteopaths, physicians, podiatrists, and veterinarians among other health care professionals.  

An error in the choice or administration of drugs for patients. Included are incorrect dose or medicine, duplicate therapy, incorrect route of administration, or wrong patient. In one extensive study of prescriptions written by physicians in a tertiary-care teaching hospital, 0.3% were erroneous and more than half of these were rated as having the potential…

The administration of a new drug to a patient because of side effects produced by another prescription. Later prescriptions increase the risk of further side effects, drug interactions, and patient harm. A prescribing cascade usually results from the failure of the health care prescriber to recognize a patient’s presenting illness as evidence of an adverse…

Decreased functional capacity of the heart, as a result of age-related muscular hypertrophy, loss of myocytes, and decreased cardiac elasticity and compliance.