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

Pulse

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/pʌls/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, pulse means: The regular beat of the heart that you can feel where an artery is close to the skin, such as at the wrist or the side of the neck.

In Turkish: nabız

How it is used

You feel for, check or take a pulse. Clinicians describe it as strong or weak, fast or slow, regular or irregular, and name the place: radial pulse (wrist), carotid pulse (neck). In cardiac arrest, staff say 'no pulse' or 'pulseless'.

Example sentences

  1. I've got a weak radial pulse, about 120.

  2. He has no pulse. Start compressions!

Common collocations

  • check a pulse
  • feel for a pulse
  • weak pulse
  • radial pulse
  • carotid pulse
  • vital signsThe basic measurements that show how the body is coping, usually pulse, breathing rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature and level of consciousness.
  • 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.
  • ABCShort for airway, breathing, circulation: the order in which a rescuer checks for the most urgent problems in a sick or injured person.
  • shockA life-threatening condition in which not enough blood and oxygen reach the body's organs, for example after heavy bleeding, a severe infection or a serious allergic reaction.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Emergency Assessment (ABC)

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