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Glossary of Terms

Oximeter
Machine monitoring the amount of oxygen in the blood. A tape-like cuff is wrapped around the baby’s toe, foot, hand or finger. Light shines through the tissues from one side of the cuff to the other. As the light passes through the finger, the light waves are altered. How much the light waves are altered depends on the amount of oxygen in the blood. This machine allows the NICU staff to monitor the amount of oxygen in the baby’s blood without having to obtain blood for laboratory testing.
This is Children's Glossary of Medical Terms - and much more. You'll find the basic definitions and, for many medical subjects, a larger medical context written by an experienced Children's pediatrician. All the definitions are in an easy-to-print format.

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Date Last Modified: 08/28/2003 09:12