1. A medical patient monitor having an audio messaging system, the medical patient monitor comprising: a circuit for sensing a physiological characteristic of a medical patient and which produces a control signal indicating an occurrence of a predefined event; an audio input device; a loudspeaker; and an audio processor having an input connected to the an audio input device, an output connected to the loudspeaker, a control input connected to the circuit for receiving the control signal, and a memory for storing an audio message related to the predefined event, the audio processor having a first mode in which a first signal received at the input and storing that first signal in the memory, and having a second mode in which the first signal is retrieved from the memory and used to generate a signal at the output in response to receiving the control signal.