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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Emergency Assessment (ABC)

Collapse

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/kəˈlæps/verbCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, collapse means: To fall down suddenly because of illness or weakness, often becoming unconscious; it is also used as a noun for the event.

In Turkish: yığılmak, fenalaşıp düşmek, bayılıp düşmek

How it is used

Very common in emergency calls and reports: 'He collapsed at work', 'a witnessed collapse'. Crews ask what happened just before, whether the person hit their head and how long they were on the floor. Doctors use 'syncope' for a brief faint, which is only one possible cause.

Example sentences

  1. A man has collapsed in the gym and isn't breathing.

  2. She collapsed while queuing in the hot sun.

Common collocations

  • collapse suddenly
  • witnessed collapse
  • collapse at home
  • found collapsed
  • pass outTo become unconscious for a short time, for example from heat, pain, fear or standing up too quickly; an informal way of saying faint.
  • unconsciousNot awake and not aware of what is happening, so that the person cannot respond normally to voices or touch.
  • cardiac arrestA sudden stop in the heart's effective pumping, so that blood no longer reaches the brain and the person collapses and stops breathing normally.
  • come roundTo become conscious again after fainting, a seizure, an injury or an anesthetic.

More terms: Emergency Assessment (ABC)

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