182.WHAT IS SHOCK?
You may get a “shock” when you see your mark on a test, or you may say you are “shocked” if you see an accident. But medically speaking, this isn’t shock. The word “shock” means a condition in which the essential activities of the body are affected. Usually, they are slowed up.
A person in a state of shock may nave a sudden or gradual feeling of weakness or faintness. He may become very pale, and the skin may feel cold and clammy. Perspiration is increased, and the pupils of the eyes become enlarged.
181.WHAT IS BLOOD PRESSURE?
The heart, as we have learned, is a pump that sends the blood circulating through our body. The pumping action takes place when the left ventricle of the heart contracts. This forces the blood out into the arteries, which expand to receive the oncoming blood.
But the arteries have a muscular lining which resists this pressure, and thus the blood is squeezed out of them into the smaller vessels of the body. Blood pressure is the amount of pressure on the blood as a result of the heart’s pumping and the resistance of the arterial walls.
180.WHAT IS AMNESIA?
Every now and then, you read in the papers about a person who has “forgotten” who he is. He remembers nobody and nothing from his past, not even his name. We say this person is suffering from amnesia.
We all get emotionally upset from time to time. We feel hurt, angry, disappointed or frightened for one reason or another. When we feel such emotional pain, we want to do something about it.
