A gurney, known as a trolley in British medical context, is the U.S. term for a type of stretcher

Stretcher

A stretcher is a medical device used to carry casualties or an incapacitated person from one place to another. It is a simple type of litter, and still called by that name in some cases....

 used in modern hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

s and ambulance

Ambulance

An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

s in developed areas. A hospital gurney is a kind of narrow bed

Bed

A bed is a large piece of furniture used as a place to sleep, relax, or engage in sexual relations.Most modern beds consist of a mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base...

 on a wheeled frame which may be adjustable in height. For ambulances, a collapsible gurney is a type of stretcher on a variable-height wheeled frame. Normally, an integral lug on the gurney locks into a sprung latch within the ambulance in order to prevent movement during transport. It is usually covered with a disposable sheet and cleaned after each patient in order to prevent the spread of infection. Its key value is to facilitate moving the patient and sheet onto a fixed bed or table on arrival at the emergency room. Both types may have straps to secure the patient.

Standard gurneys have several adjustments. The bed can be raised or lowered to facilitate patient transfer. The head of the gurney can be raised so that the patient is in a sitting position (especially important for those in respiratory distress) or lowered flat in order to perform CPR, or for patients with suspected spinal injury who must be transported on a long spine board

Long spine board

A spinal board, also known as a long spine board , longboard, spineboard, or backboard, is a patient handling device used primarily in pre-hospital trauma care designed to provide rigid support during movement of a patient with suspected spinal or limb injuries...

. The feet can be raised to what is called the trendelenberg position, indicated for patients in shock.

A fairly recent innovation is the addition of battery-powered hydraulics to raise and collapse the legs automatically. This eases the workload on EMS

Emergency medical services

Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...

 personnel, who are statistically at high risk of back injury from repetitive raising and lowering of patients.

Special "bariatric gurneys" are used for obese patients. These are both wider and have a higher weight capacity compared to standard equipment.

The name gurney comes from its similarity to a horse-drawn cab patented in the U.S. in 1883 by J. Theodore Gurney. Advanced models of collapsible gurneys have a lower frame that can fold up on contact with the rear deck of the ambulance, and have a securing device that mates with a counterpart inside the ambulance to keep it from moving during transport. Shelves, hooks and poles for medical equipment

Medical equipment

Medical equipment is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions.-Types:There are several basic types:* Diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis...

 and intravenous medication are also frequently included.

Gurneys in hospitals come in two types:

1. Non-power assisted: Totally manually powered.
2. Power assisted: Uses a small motor to help amplify the push energy. Usually used in bariatrics
   Bariatrics
   Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. The term bariatrics was created around 1965, from the Greek root bar- , suffix -iatr , and suffix -ic...
   
    departments with heavy patients.

A gurney has some resemblance to a wheelbench

Wheelbench

A wheelbench is a wheeled mobility device in which the user lies down. The device is propelled manually. The user pushes the wheels with their hands in the same manner as propelling a wheelchair or the wheelbench can be moved by a second person pulling or pushing it by the handles.A wheelbench is...

. The difference is that the gurney is primarily made to move patients around in a hospital. A wheelbench is usually more comfortable for long distances or outdoors, than a gurney.