Personality Test - Pfeiffer, Richard F.

personality test

A neuropsychiatric assessment tool, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2, used to identify an individual’s predominant emotional makeup. Personality tests measure adjustment, adventurousness, agitation, anxiety, coping styles, depression, introversion, hypochondriasis, paranoia, and other variables.

personal protective equipment

ABBR: PPE. Clothing, masks, gloves, or other equipment designed to protect a person from exposure to noxious chemicals or transmissible diseases.

personal representative

(pĕr′ sĭn-ĭl rĕp″ rĭ-zĕn′ -tă-tĭv) Someone designated to make health care decisions for another if that other person becomes incapable of making such decisions.

perspiration

(pĕr″spĭr-ā′shŭn) [L. perspirare, breathe through] 1. The secretion of the sweat (sudoriferous) glands of the skin; sweating. 2. The salty fluid secreted through the sweat glands of the skin; sweat. Essentially, the fluid is a weak solution of sodium chloride, but it also contains potassium, lactate, and urea.

 Perspiration is a means of removing heat from the body. Evaporation of 1 L of sweat removes 580 kcal of heat from the body. Sweat loss varies from 100 to 1000 mL/hr but may exceed those amounts in a hot climate.

 Perspiration is increased by temperature and humidity of the atmosphere, exercise, pain, nausea, nervousness, mental excitement, dyspnea, diaphoretics, and shock. It is decreased by cold, diarrhea, other causes of profound dehydration, and using certain drugs.

 insensible p. Evaporation of water vapor from the body without appearing as moisture on the skin. SYN: insensible sweating.

 sensible p. Perspiration that forms moisture on the skin.

perspire

(pĕr-spīr′)[L. perspirare, breathe through] To secrete fluid through the pores of the skin. SYN: sweat (3).

persuasion

(pĕr-swā′ zhŏn) In psychotherapy, the therapeutic use of suggestion and conversation to influence the thinking or behavior of a patient.

persulfate

(pĕr-sŭl′fāt) One of a series of sulfates containing more sulfuric acid than the others in the same series.

Perthes disease

(pĕr′tēz) [Georg C. Perthes, Ger. surgeon, 1869–1927] Osteochondritis deformans juvenilis.

pertinent

Relevant; clinically meaningful.

 p. negative An element of the patient’s history that aids diagnosis because the patient denies that it is present.

 p. positive An element of a patient’s history that aids diagnosis because the patient affirms that it is present.

perturbation

(pĕr″tŭr-bā′shŏn) [L. perturbatio, confusion, disorder] 1. A state of great disturbance or agitation; uneasiness of mind. 2. A disturbance or a change in a structure or function, usually as a result of an external influence. perturbed (pĕr″tŭrbd′), adj.

pertussis