JCECE flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Carnot efficiency

The maximum efficiency of a heat engine operating between two reservoirs is 1 minus the cold temperature divided by the hot temperature, with both temperatures expressed in kelvin.

Lami's theorem

When three coplanar forces act at a point in equilibrium, each force is proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two forces.

Cardiac output formula

Cardiac output equals stroke volume multiplied by heart rate; at rest this is about 70 mL times 72 beats per minute, roughly five litres per minute.

Bohr effect

Rising carbon dioxide, falling pH, rising temperature, and rising 2,3-BPG shift the oxygen–haemoglobin dissociation curve to the right, reducing haemoglobin's affinity for oxygen.

Intravenous drip rate

Drops per minute equals the volume in millilitres multiplied by the giving set drop factor, divided by the infusion time in minutes.

Airborne precautions

Used for organisms under five micrometres spread by aerosol, such as tuberculosis; require an N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room with adequate ventilation.

Nägele's rule

To estimate the expected date of delivery, take the first day of the last menstrual period, add seven days, subtract three months, and add one year.

APGAR score

A newborn assessment at one and five minutes scoring appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration, each from zero to two, with a total of ten.

Volume of distribution

The apparent volume of distribution equals the dose administered divided by the plasma concentration; it indicates how widely a drug distributes into body tissues.

First-order half-life

For first-order elimination, half-life equals 0.693 divided by the elimination rate constant, and the fraction remaining after n half-lives is one-half raised to n.

Anion gap

The anion gap equals sodium minus the sum of chloride and bicarbonate; a raised value suggests added acid such as ketoacidosis or lactic acidosis.

ABCDE trauma survey

The primary trauma survey sequence is airway with cervical spine control, breathing, circulation, disability, and exposure, reassessing after each step.

Thevenin's theorem

Any linear two-terminal network can be replaced by a voltage source equal to the open-circuit voltage in series with a resistance found by deactivating independent sources.

De Morgan's laws

In Boolean algebra, the complement of a product equals the sum of the complements, and the complement of a sum equals the product of the complements.

Micrometer least count

The least count of a micrometer equals the screw pitch divided by the number of thimble divisions; a 0.5 mm pitch with 50 divisions gives 0.01 mm.

Tolerance and allowance

Tolerance is the difference between the upper and lower limits of a dimension; allowance is the intentional minimum clearance or maximum interference between mating parts.

Taper turning angle

When turning a taper by swivelling the compound slide, the half-angle equals the inverse tangent of half the diameter difference divided by the taper length.

Bend allowance

The developed length of a bend equals the angle in degrees over 180 times pi, multiplied by the inside radius plus the neutral-axis factor times thickness.

Gram stain sequence

The sequence is crystal violet, iodine, decolouriser, and safranin; Gram-positive bacteria retain the purple crystal violet–iodine complex after decolourisation.

Universal precautions

Infection control measures applied to all patients, treating blood and body fluids as potentially infectious with gloves and hand hygiene for every contact.

Simply supported beam moment

For a simply supported beam with a central point load, the maximum bending moment is load times span divided by four, occurring at midspan.

Reynolds number

Reynolds number equals density times velocity times diameter divided by viscosity; pipe flow is laminar below about 2,000 and turbulent above about 4,000.

Calvin cycle

The light-independent stage of photosynthesis in the stroma, where RuBisCO fixes carbon dioxide into sugar using ATP and NADPH from the light reactions.

Immunoglobulin functions

IgG crosses the placenta, IgM appears first in infection, IgE mediates allergy, and IgA is secreted in milk and mucosal secretions.

Nursing process order

The five steps are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation, with evaluation feeding back into reassessment of the patient.

Wound healing phases

The phases are haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation; healing by primary intention leaves minimal granulation and scarring.

Partograph action line

A graph of cervical dilatation against time in labour; crossing the alert line or dilatation below one centimetre per hour indicates slow progress and need for referral.

Postpartum haemorrhage definition

Blood loss greater than 500 mL after vaginal delivery or greater than 1,000 mL after caesarean section; uterine atony is the commonest cause.

Bioavailability formula

Bioavailability equals the oral area under the curve divided by the intravenous area under the curve, multiplied by the intravenous dose divided by the oral dose.

Henderson–Hasselbalch equation

pH equals pKa plus the logarithm of the ratio of base to acid; weak acids absorb better in the acidic stomach and weak bases in the intestine.

Sensitivity and specificity

Sensitivity is the proportion of diseased people correctly identified; specificity is the proportion of non-diseased people correctly identified; predictive values also depend on prevalence.

Sepsis first-hour bundle

Measure lactate, obtain blood cultures before antibiotics, give broad-spectrum antibiotics, and begin fluid resuscitation within the first hour of recognising sepsis.