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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Medical Emergencies

Abdominal thrusts

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/æbˈdɑːmɪnəl θrʌsts/nounCommon term

In emergency medicine & first aid, abdominal thrusts means: Quick inward and upward pushes just above the navel, used in first aid to force out an object that is blocking a choking person's airway.

In Turkish: Heimlich manevrası, karına bası

How it is used

The term used in current first aid guidelines; the older name 'Heimlich manoeuvre' (US maneuver) is still widely known. Courses teach them together with back blows for severe choking in adults and children, but they are not used on babies. You give or do abdominal thrusts.

Example sentences

  1. After three abdominal thrusts, the piece of bread came out.

  2. The waiter saw the man was choking and gave him abdominal thrusts.

Common collocations

  • give abdominal thrusts
  • back blows and abdominal thrusts
  • Heimlich manoeuvre
  • chokingA blockage of the airway by food or a small object, so that the person cannot breathe, speak or cough properly.
  • airwayThe passage that air travels through from the nose and mouth to the lungs; in emergencies, the question is whether it is open or blocked.
  • first aidThe help given straight away to someone who is injured or suddenly ill, before a doctor, nurse or ambulance crew arrives and takes over.

More terms: Medical Emergencies

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.