intensive care /inten″siv/ [L, intensus, tighten, garrire, to chatter] , constant complex health care as provided in various acute life-threatening conditions such as multiple trauma, severe burns, or myocardial infarction or after certain kinds of surgery. Care is most frequently given by specially trained personnel in a unit equipped with various technologically sophisticated machines and devices for treating and monitoring the condition of the patient. Also called critical care.
