Medical Shock Is Not Emotional Shock
A shock is a sudden violent impact or surprise. In medicine it means a specific and dangerous drop in blood flow.
A shock is a sudden violent impact, or a sudden upsetting surprise. Medicine uses the word for something quite different and life-threatening: circulatory shock is a failure of blood flow that starves tissues of oxygen, with cold clammy skin and a racing pulse. Someone who is emotionally shocked is not in medical shock, and the confusion has real consequences in first aid. A separate old word *shock* means a thick mass of hair, as in *a shock of white hair*.
- A sudden impact. *The shock of the blast.*
- A surprise. *A nasty shock.*
- A circulatory emergency. *In shock.*
- A thick mass of hair. *A shock of hair.*
- French — *choc*, a collision. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | shock | A shock. |
| Verb | shock | It shocked her. |
| Adjective | shocking | Shocking. |
| Adjective | shocked | Shocked. |
| Compound | aftershock | An aftershock. |
- The news came as a shock.Surprise.
- The patient went into shock.Medical.
- He had a shock of white hair.Other word.
Kinds of medical shock
- Hypovolaemic — from blood or fluid loss
- Cardiogenic — the heart fails to pump adequately
- Septic — from overwhelming infection
- Anaphylactic — from a severe allergic reaction
- All are emergencies and none are the same as emotional distress
French *choc*, a violent collision, from *choquer*, to strike against. The hair sense is a separate Germanic word.
Is emotional shock the same as medical shock?
No. Medical shock is a failure of blood circulation that starves tissues of oxygen. It is an emergency, not a state of upset.
What is a shock of hair?
A thick untidy mass of it. That shock is a separate word from the one meaning impact.