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pulselessness

pulselessness

9.3
No pulse that you can feel in the body
  • noun
  • /ˈpʌlsləsnəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ausencia de pulso
  • Assessment for acute compartment syndrome can be attained by assessing the "5 Ps": pain, paralysis, paresthesias, pallor, and pulselessness.

Examples

  • The doctor noted the patient's pulselessness and immediately began life-saving measures.

  • Assess the six P's: pain out of proportion to the injury, pain with passive stretch of the toes, pallor, pulselessness, paresthesia, and paralysis; but take special notice of pain as it is listed first and can be the most sensitive early indicator of compromise.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Pulselessness (often seen as a late sign)

    Academic text (2006)
  • Pulselessness is a "dead giveaway," but it is a very late sign of compartment syndrome—sometimes too late!

    Academic text (2004)
  • In the emergency room, the presence of pulselessness indicated a critical state requiring swift intervention.

  • The paramedic quickly recognized pulselessness as a sign that CPR needed to be initiated right away.

Antonyms

632 2.3

The regular beat you feel in your wrist or neck from the heart

How Strong

radial pulse
  • Specialized
2 4.2
pulselessness
  • Specialized
9.3

Surface Forms

pulselessness singular

Morphology

pulselessness = pulseless (transparent) = pulse + less + ness

Formed from 'pulseless' (pulse + -less) + the noun-forming '-ness'; the literal meaning 'without a pulse' follows regular English derivation.

Etymology

Pulselessness is made of pulse ('a beat', like a heartbeat), plus -less ('without') and -ness ('the state of'). So pulselessness literally means 'the state of being without a pulse', which is why doctors use it when a person has no heartbeat that a doctor can feel and needs immediate help.