Unit
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Unit has several definitions 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.
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). 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.
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.
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). 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."