Student Name: Clinical Date: Terminology Definitions
Fontanels
Broad area, or soft spot, consisting of a strong band of connective tissue contagious with cranial bones and located at the junctions of the bones.
Molding
Overlapping of cranial bones or shaping of fetal head to accommodate and conform to the bony soft parts of the mother’s birth canal during labor.
Apical Pulse
Most accurate pulse reading for an infant usually counted for a full minute. Normal range is 120-140 bpm
Thermoregulation
Control of Temperature
Meconium
First stools of infant: viscid, sticky; dark greenish brown, almost black; sterile; odorless
Jaundice
Yellow discoloration of the body tissues caused by the deposit of bile pigments (unconjugated bilirubin)
Bilirubin
Yellow or orange pigment that is a breakdown product of hemoglobin. It is carried by the blood to the liver where it is chemically changed and excreted into the bile or is conjugated and excreted by the kidneys
Hyperbilirubinemia
Condition in which the total unconjugated serum bilirubin concentration in the blood is elevated. Values abnormal based on gestational age, days of life, and the baby’s general physical condition. Characterized by a yellow discoloration of the skin, mucous membrane, and various organs; caused by bilirubin levels that rise steadily over the first 3 to 4 days, peak around day 5, and decrease thereafter.
Acrocyanosis
Peripheral cyanosis; blue color of hands and feet in most infants at birth that may persist 7-10 days
Vernix Caseosa
Protective gray-white fatty substance of cheesy consistency covering the fetal skin
Cephalhematoma
Extravasation of blood from ruptured vessels between a skull bone and its external covering, the peristeum. Serlling is limited to the margins of the cranial
