Vital signs are physical measurements that indicate whether an individual is alive and include heart rate, breathing rate, temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation. They are affected by factors like age, sex, weight, exercise, and medical conditions. Vital signs are usually measured when patients are admitted to healthcare facilities, experience changes in health status, before and after medical procedures, and every 4 hours for patients with specific conditions. Abnormal vital signs include fever, very high or low temperature, fast or slow heart rate or breathing, and high or low blood pressure.

1. Vital Signs
Lecturer: Mohammed S. Ellulu
Anatomy & Physiology 2
For Occupational Therapy Students

2. What are vital signs?
 are physical signs that indicate an individual is
alive.
As:
Heart beat,
Breathing rate,
Temperature,
Blood pressure,
Oxygen saturation.
2 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

3. Factors affecting vital signs.
Age
Sex
Weight
Exercise
3 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

4. Conditions
 All measurements are made while the patient is seated.
 patient should have had the opportunity to sit for
approximately five minutes.
Frequency: assessed at least every 4 hours in hospitalized
patients to whom with:
1) elevated temperatures,
2) low or high blood pressures,
3) changes in pulse rate or rhythm
4) respiratory difficulty
5) patients who are taking medications that effect
cardiovascular or respiratory function or who had a
surgery.
4 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

5. Time to assess vital signs
 On admission to a health care agency to obtain
baseline data.
 When a client has a change in health status or report
symptoms such as chest pain or feelings hot or faint.
 Before and after surgery.
 Before and/or after the administration of a
medication that could affect the respiratory or
cardiovascular.
 Before and after any nursing interventions that could
affect the vital signs such as ambulating a client who
has been on bed rest.
5 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

6. Temperature
Balance of heat produced and lost
6 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

7. Body temperature
 Reflects the balance between the heat produced and the
heat lost from the body.
There are two kinds of body temperature:
 Core temperature is the temperature of the deep
tissues of the body such as abdominal cavity and pelvic
cavity; it remains relatively constant.
 The surface temperature is the temperature of the
skin, the subcutaneous tissue, and fat. It rises and falls in
response to the environment.
 When the amount of heat produced by the body equals
the amount of heat loss, the person is in heat balance.
7 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

8. Factors affect the body heat production
 Basal metabolic rate "BMR" is the rate of energy
utilization in the body required to maintain essential
activities.
 Muscle activity.
 Thyroxine output.
 Epinephrine and sympathetic stimulation/stress
response. These hormones immediately increases the rate
of cellular metabolism in many body tissues.
8 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

9. Factors affecting body temperature
 Circadian Rhythms; lower in the morning than in the
evening.
 Age; the body temperature of infants and children
changes more rapidly in response to both heat and cold.
 Hormones; women tend to have more fluctuations in
body temperature than men.
 Stress.
 Environmental temperature.
 Exercise.
9 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

10. Alterations in body temperature
Pyrexia
• body temperature above the usual range
Hyperpyrexia
• very high fever usually above 41 °C and survival is
rare when the temperature Reaches 44 °C and death
due to damaging effects on the respiratory center.
Hypothermia
• body temperature below the lower limit of normal
10 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

11. Respiration rate - Pulse
Wave of blood created by contraction of the left ventricle of the heart
11 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

12. Factors affecting pulse
Age Gender Exercise
Hypo-
Fever Drugs
volemia
Position Pathology
12 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

13. Pulse
 The normal pulse for healthy adults ranges from 60 to
100 beats per minute.
 You feel the beats by firmly pressing on the arteries,
which are located close to the surface of the skin at
certain points of the body.
 The pulse can be found on the side of the lower neck, on
the inside of the elbow, or at the wrist.
 Measure the rate of the pulse (recorded in beats per
minute). Count for 30 seconds and multiply by 2 (or 15
seconds x 4).
13 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

14. 14 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

15. Mechanics and regulation of breathing
 During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts the ribs move
upward and outward, and the sternum moves outward,
thus enlarging the thorax and permitting the lungs to
expand.
 During exhalation. The diaphragm relaxes, the ribs move
downward and inward, and the sternum moves inward,
thus decreasing the size of the thorax as the lungs are
compressed.
15 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

16. 16 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

17. Factors affecting Respirations
Factors increase the rate Factors decrease the rate
Exercise Decreased environmental
temperature
Increase metabolism Certain medications such as narcotics
Stress Increased intra cranial pressure
Increased environmental temperature
Lowered oxygen concentration
Hyperventilation; refers to very deep, rapid respiration.
Hypoventilation; refers to very shallow respirations.
17 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

18. Blood Pressure
18 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

19. Blood pressure
 Blood pressure is referred to the force of the blood
against arterial walls. Maximum blood pressure is exerted
on the walls of arteries when the left ventricles of the
heart pushes blood through the aortic valve into the
aortas during contraction, the highest pressure thus called
systolic pressure.
 Diastolic pressure is the pressure when the ventricles
are at rest. Diastolic pressure, then, is the lower
pressure present at all times within the arteries. The
differences between the two called the pulse pressure.
19 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

20. Factors affecting blood pressure
Age Gender
Exercise Drugs
Stress Obesity
Race Disease
20 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

21. Variation of blood pressure
Hypertension Hypotension
an abnormally high blood pressure, over blood pressure below normal that is
140mm Hg systolic and 90 mm Hg systolic reading between 85-110mm Hg.
diastolic. It occurs as a result of peripheral
Factors vasodilatation.
Factors
Elasticity of the arteries
Lifestyle as cigarette smoking Analgesics
Obesity Bleeding
Lack of physical exercise Severe burn
High blood cholesterol level Dehydration
Continued exposure to stress
21 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

22. Oxygen Saturation
Non invasive device that measures arterial blood oxygen saturation
by sensor attached to the finger, toe, forehead.
22 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

23. Factors affecting oxygen saturation reading
 Hemoglobin; if the hemoglobin is fully saturated with
oxygen, the saturation will appear normal even if the total
hemoglobin level is low
 Circulation
 Activity; shivering or excessive movement of the sensor
site may interfere with accurate reading.
 Carbon monoxide poisoning
23 mohdlulu@hotmail.com

24. Thank you for your attention
Good Luck