Category: Pm-Po
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Power outage food safety
If the power is out for less than 2 hours, then the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be safe to consume. While the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep food cold for longer. If the power is out for longer than 2 hours,…
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Poultice
A soft moist mass about the consistency of cooked porridge that is spread on cloth and applied warm to create moist local heat where applied. Poultices help by increasing blood flow, relaxes tense muscles, soothing inflamed tissues, or drawing toxins from an infected area. The word poultice derives from the Latin pulta and the Greek poltos, both…
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Pouch of Douglas
An extension of the peritoneal cavity between the rectum and the back wall of the uterus. Also known as the rectouterine pouch.
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Potts disease
An old term for tuberculosis of the spine that caused softening and collapse of the vertebrae, often resulting in kyphosis, a “hunchback” deformity, which was called “Pott’s curvature.” Named for the English surgeon Sir John Percivall Pott (1714-1788) who described it.
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Potassium
The major positive ion (cation) found inside cells. The chemical notation for potassium is K+. The proper level of potassium is essential for normal cell function. An abnormal increase in potassium (hyperkalemia) or decrease in potassium (hypokalemia) can profoundly affect the nervous system and heart, and when extreme, can be fatal. The normal blood potassium level is 3.5’5.0 milliEquivalents/liter (mEq/L),…
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Posture
The carriage of the body as a whole, the attitude of the body, or the position of the limbs (the arms and legs). “Postural” pertains to the posture or position. For example, postural hypotension is a drop in blood pressure (hypotension) due to a change in body position (a change in posture) when a person moves to a more vertical position:…
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Postural hypotension
A drop in blood pressure (hypotension) due to a change in body position (posture) when a person moves to a more vertical position: from sitting to standing or from lying down to sitting or standing. Postural hypotension is more common in older people. The change in position causes a temporary reduction in blood flow and therefore a shortage of…
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Postural
Pertaining to the posture or position of the body, the attitude or carriage of the body as a whole, or the position of the limbs (the arms and legs). Postural hypotension is a drop in blood pressure (hypotension) due to a change in body position (a change in posture). It occurs when a person, often an older person, moves…
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Postprandial
After mealtime. A postprandial rise in the blood glucose level is one that occurs after eating.
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Postpartum
The period just after delivery, as with postpartum depression. Postpartum refers to the mother, and postnatal to the baby.