j.shot

hmmm. we came to this question when we were discussing how to zero the transducer for an a-line. my class and i said you place the transducer 4th intercostal space, midaxillary & our instructor asked what's the signifigance of this placement..."what are you zeroing it to, what in the body is the tranducer lined up with." i said the right atrium and all the books i've read say the right atrium but, our teacher said there's an even more specific part of the heart (maybe even part of the right atrium as he did say we are right) the p.axis lines up with. all the major parts of the heart; valves, atria, ventricles, sa, & av nodes have been named (we're fishing) and our instructor keeps sending us away telling us to come back with another answer. i dunno i'm stumped. if anything he said he'll tell us the answer when we graduate (2 months). p.s. thanx for all the effort tho people.

no the question was more along the lines... what does the phlebostatic axis point to? i said the right atrium & he said yes but, he was looking for something more specific.

maybe i'm just a dumb grunt (army nursing student) but, one of my instuctors here posted a question for the class 3 months ago and we still have been unable to ascertain an answer... what does the phlebostatic axis point to? i know the phlebostatic axis is a reference point that points to the RA but, our instructor was/is looking for something more specific. thanx for any help.