Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Poison oak

    A climbing vine, Toxicodendron diversiloba, closely related to poison ivy and having the same active substances.  

  • Poiseuille’s space

    The sluggish current close to the wall of a blood vessel where blood cells move slowly, if at all; rapid flow occurs down the middle of the vessel.  

  • Poiseuille’s law

    A law that states that the rapidity of the capillary current is directly proportional to the fourth power of the radius of the capillary tube, the pressure on the fluid, and inversely proportional to the viscosity of the liquid and the length of the tube.  

  • Poise

    The unit of viscosity; the tangential shearing force required to be applied to an area of 1 cm2 between two parallel planes of 1 cm2 in area and 1 cm apart in order to produce a velocity of flow of the liquid of 1 cm/sec.  

  • Point-of-care testing

    Use of testing equipment in an area near the patient, rather than sending the specimen to a laboratory. This enables health care providers to learn the results of the test immediately. Glucometers were the first of many new devices that allowed tests previously performed in the laboratory to be done in the clinical setting. Examples…

  • Light pointer

    A head-mounted input device to enable computer use by persons with paralysis or limited movement. These devices typically operate through visible or invisible light sources at the tip of the pointer, which transmits a signal to a computer-mounted light sensor or receiver.  

  • Point of entry

    In dental or medical radiography, the location on the face toward which the central ray is directed. Points of entry are typically in the region of the apices of the teeth.  

  • Point of care

    Any location where patient care is provided, including, e.g., the bedside, radiology suite, emergency room, clinic, or ambulance.  

  • Voillemier’s point

    The point on the linea alba of the abdominal wall about 6 to 7 cm below a line connecting the anterior superior iliac spines. Suprapubic puncture of the bladder may be made at this point in obese or edematous individuals.  

  • Vital point

    The point in the medulla oblongata close to the floor of the fourth ventricle, the puncture of which causes instant death owing to destruction of the respiratory center.