Glossary

First-aid glossary

On first-aid courses and when talking to the emergency call handler, you hear words that rarely come up in everyday life. This glossary explains them in plain language so that a term does not distract you from what matters when the moment comes. The definitions do not replace training: they help you understand what is being talked about, while an instructor will show you in class how to act with your hands.

A familiar word eases anxiety. If you understand what the call handler is asking, it is easier to answer precisely and not lose precious time.

— Editor's note

Assessment

Scene safety: Checking whether anything threatens you or the injured person: traffic, fire, electricity, collapse, aggression. All first aid starts here.
Response (consciousness): A person's ability to react to voice and touch. It is checked by speaking loudly to them and gently touching their shoulder.
Normal breathing: Regular breaths in and out with visible movement of the chest. Occasional gasping breaths do not count as normal breathing.
Agonal breathing: Infrequent, noisy, gasping breaths in an unresponsive person. It is a sign that CPR is needed, not just watching.
Call handler: The person who takes the call on 112 or another emergency number, asks about the incident, sends a crew and tells you what to do until it arrives.
Landmarks: Features of a place that help the crew find you faster: an entrance number, a nearby shop, a road marker post, the name of a bus stop.

Resuscitation

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): A set of actions for a person who does not respond and is not breathing normally: chest compressions, rescue breaths and use of a defibrillator.
Chest compressions: Rhythmic pressing on the breastbone that keeps blood circulating. Under the 2021 guidelines they are done at 100–120 per minute to a depth of 5–6 cm.
Rescue breaths: Breaths into the injured person's mouth, alternated with compressions at a ratio of 30 to 2. Given by those trained to do so, preferably through a mask or face shield.
Automated external defibrillator (AED): A portable device that analyses the heart rhythm by itself and tells you by voice what to do. Designed for people without medical training.
Breathing mask: A barrier device or face shield through which rescue breaths are given. It protects the person helping.
Recovery position: A position on the side in which a person who is unresponsive but breathing normally will not roll over and the airway stays open.

Injuries

Heavy bleeding: Bleeding in which blood flows heavily or spurts and does not stop on its own. It needs immediate pressure on the wound and a call for an ambulance.
Direct pressure: Pressing firmly on a wound by hand with a sterile pad or clean cloth. The main way to stop bleeding that anyone can use.
Pressure dressing: A dressing that keeps pressure on a wound when you need your hands free. The technique is shown on a course.
Burn: Damage to skin and tissue from heat, boiling water, chemicals or electricity. The first step for a heat burn is cooling under cool running water for about 20 minutes.
Frostbite: Damage to tissue from cold, most often to fingers, ears and nose. The area is not rubbed but protected from further cold, and medical help is sought.
Overheating: A state in which the body cannot cope with heat. The person is moved somewhere cool; confusion or loss of consciousness requires an immediate emergency call.
Hypothermia: A general drop in body temperature in the cold. The person is moved somewhere warm, wet clothing is removed and they are rewarmed gradually.

Law and organisation

First aid: Help given before medical care. In Russia, under article 31 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ, anyone with appropriate training or skills may give it. Rules differ in other countries.
Medical care: Care provided by health professionals: the ambulance crew, doctors, paramedics. First aid only supports the person until they arrive.
Russian first-aid regulations: A document approved by Order No. 220n of the Russian Ministry of Health of 3 May 2024, in force since 1 September 2024. It sets out for which conditions which actions are taken.
Single emergency number 112: A number for calling all emergency services in Russia and across the EU. It works from a mobile phone and connects you to the right service. Know your local number too.
Number 103: The number for calling an ambulance from a mobile phone in Russia. In the UK 999 and in the US 911 are also used.
In-person first-aid course: A class with an instructor where skills are practised hands-on with manikins and training equipment. The only way to truly learn first aid.

Where these terms appear in the reference

Methods
Adult CPR, the recovery position, dressings and cooling a burn, in general terms and never as a replacement for a course.
Topics
A map of situations: assessing the scene, unresponsiveness, injuries, burns, heat and cold. The article catalogue is here too.
Be prepared
How to prepare in advance: an in-person course, a home first-aid kit without medicines, and emergency numbers at hand.
Questions
What to ask a course instructor and what to discuss with a doctor if children or older relatives live with you.

Methods
Adult CPR, the recovery position, dressings and cooling a burn, in general terms and never as a replacement for a course.
Research
Where first-aid recommendations come from and how to check advice you found online or heard from friends.
Sources
Which documents this reference relies on and what it deliberately does not do.

Sources

Federal Law No. 323-FZ (art. 31), Russia
Order of the Russian Ministry of Health No. 220n of 3 May 2024
European Resuscitation Council — Guidelines 2021

Information was checked as of the preparation date. First-aid rules and resuscitation guidelines are revised from time to time, so rely on the documents currently in force where you live and on what your in-person course instructor taught you.