late deceleration
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Related to late deceleration: variable deceleration
deceleration
[de-sel″ĕ-ra´shun]the sudden stopping of movement, a frequent mechanism of motion injury. Common causes of deceleration injury are motor vehicle accidents and falls.
early deceleration in fetal heart rate monitoring, a transient decrease in heart rate that coincides with the onset of a uterine contraction.
late deceleration in fetal heart rate monitoring, a transient decrease in heart rate occurring at or after the peak of a uterine contraction and resulting from fetal hypoxia.
variable d's in fetal heart rate monitoring, a transient series of decelerations in heart rate that vary in duration, intensity, and relation to uterine contractions; they are abrupt in onset and cessation and result from vagus nerve firing in response to stimuli such as umbilical cord compression in the first stage of labor.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
late de·cel·er·a·tion
any transient fetal bradycardia, with onset of deceleration at the peak of the uterine contraction and nadir as contraction finishes; may represent uteroplacental insufficiency.
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