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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · CPR and Resuscitation

Defibrillator

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/diːˈfɪbrɪleɪtər/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, defibrillator means: A machine that gives a controlled electric shock to the heart to stop a dangerous, chaotic rhythm and let a normal rhythm return.

In Turkish: defibrilatör, şok cihazı

How it is used

Includes AEDs for the public and manual defibrillators used by paramedics and hospital teams, which also show the ECG. Staff charge the defibrillator, tell everyone to stand clear and deliver a shock. People often shorten it to 'defib' and even use it as a verb: 'We defibbed him twice.'

Example sentences

  1. Charging the defibrillator. Everyone stand clear!

  2. The nearest public defibrillator is outside the pharmacy.

Common collocations

  • manual defibrillator
  • charge the defibrillator
  • public access defibrillator
  • defibrillator pads
  • AEDShort for automated external defibrillator: a portable device that checks the heart rhythm through pads on the chest and gives an electric shock if one is needed.
  • 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.
  • CPRShort for cardiopulmonary resuscitation: chest compressions, often with rescue breaths, given to someone whose heart has stopped, to keep blood and oxygen moving to the brain.
  • crash cartA trolley on wheels that holds the equipment and drugs needed for resuscitation, such as a defibrillator, airway kit and emergency medicines.

More terms: CPR and Resuscitation

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