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Unit
Unit has the following meanings in the field of
medicine:
1. The number “one.” In other words, a unit can
mean a single item, thing, or person.
2. A group of persons or things considered to
be a whole because of common activities or
functions.
FEATURED BOOK: Oxford Dictionary of
Various units of measurement
3. An amount that has been specified as a standard of measurement, weight, or any type
of scale or system that is formed by multiplication or fractions. An example would be a
gram, which is a small unit of weight.
4. An area of a hospital that has personnel and equipment that are capable of treating
patients with a particular condition, illness, or other common problem. For example, some
hospital have a burn unit where burn victims are treated and care for. Most well known,
however, is the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
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The ICU is an area of a hospital in which patients
with life threatening medical problems of sudden
onset are placed for close monitoring and
constant, complicated, detailed nursing and
medical care.
5. A specific amount of a substance that is
needed to produce a desired effect. In this sense,
unit is abbreviated as "U." A unit's value will differ
depending on the type of substance (such as a
medication) that it is being used to describe. Unit
comes from the Latin word "unus" meaning "one."