Fluke Biomedical MPS450 - Manual (Page 125)

Glossary
Introduction
C
C-3
Table C-1. Glossary (cont.)
Term Definition
MILLIVOLT One-thousandth of a volt .
MYOCARDIUM The thick muscular layer of the heart, located between the
endocardium at the inside and the epicardium at the outside walls of
the heart.
NANOMETER One-billionth (109) of a meter .
NANOSECOND One billionth (109) of a second (one thousand-millionth of a second).
Electricity travels approximately one foot per nanosecond.
NONINVASIVE Not tending to spread; especially, not tending to invade healthy tissue.
OHM A unit of electrical resistance equal to that of a conductor in which a
current of one ampere is produced by a potential of one volt across
its terminals.
PAP Pulmonary arterial pressure.
PATIENT LEADS Cables that connect a patient directly with the monitor. Sometimes
called applied parts.
PCWP Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Also known as PAW.
PULSE The rhythmical throbbing of arteries produced by regular
contractions of the heart.
PURKINJE NETWORK The dense collection of Purkinje fibers, which are dispersed throughout
the
myocardium and which represent the terminal portion of the
heart's electrical conduction system.
PVCS Premature ventricular contractions.
QRS COMPLEX The part of the P-QRS-T wave that records ventricular depolarization
and contraction.
RESISTANCE The opposition to electric current that is characteristic of a medium,
substance, or circuit element.
RS-232 A method for connecting peripheral devices to computers using either a
25-pin connector or a 9-pin connector. There are two types of RS-232
interfaces: the data terminal equipment interface (DTE) and the data
communication equipment interface (DCE). Personal computers are
DTE devices, and peripherals (printers, mice, modems, the MPS450,
etc.) are DCE devices. SEE
serial port .
SA NODE The dominant pacemaker site in the heart, responsible for setting the
heart rate. Positioned in the right
atrium near the inlet of the superior
vena cava.
SERIAL PORT An asynchronous COMmunication port/address to which a
peripheral—such as a printer, a mouse or the MPS450—is connected
to a computer or other device. SEE
RS-232 .
SWAN-GANZ A soft, balloon-tipped catheter used for measuring blood pressure and
cardiac output. The catheter is guided by blood flow into the pulmonary
artery . A monitor near the tip of the catheter detects PAP , PCWP ,
and thermodilution .