Definition

Intensive Care Unit—where the sickest patients go to be monitored with more technology than a spaceship while teams of specialists debate exotic diagnoses. The hospital's most expensive real estate where miracles and bankruptcies both happen.

Example Usage

She was transferred to the ICU when her oxygen saturation decided to audition for limbo—how low can you go?

Origin

Hospital unit designation from 1950s, formalized in 1960s

Fun Fact

ICU stays cost an average of $4,000-$10,000 per day in the US, which is why medical bankruptcy is a uniquely American phenomenon.

Source: Hospital facility terminology

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