B7.015 Selective Vulnerability from the Spinal Cord Flashcards
UMN damage symptoms
increased muscle tone
no atrophy
hyperreflexia
pathological reflexes present
LMN damage symptoms
decreased muscle tone
atrophy
hyporeflexia
pathological reflexes absent
reflex grading scale
0: no reflex
1: reflex only with reinforcement
2: reflex without reinforcement
3: reflex spreads to other muscles
4: clonus
+ if high amplitude
- if low amplitude
normal plantar response
toes down (flexion)
abnormal plantar response
Babinski sign
toes up and fanned
exaggerated withdrawal response
use of Babinski sign in UMN damage
moderate sensitivity (60-70% have it with an UMN injury) high specificity
what type of midline structural lesion would cause bilateral arm and leg weakness
high cervical spinal cord lesion
why should you consider midline lesions first
typically more dangerous and require more urgent therapy
dorsal horn
sensory
ventral horn
motor
what is present in the central gray matter
sensory dorsal cells
motor ventral cells
what is present in the peripheral white matter
intersegmental communications
“long tracts”
why do cervical and lumbar sections of the spinal cord have large ventral horns?
innervate limbs which require more motor control than the abdominal area (thoracic cord)
why is there a 3rd small out pouching between the dorsal and ventral horns in the thoracic cord
region where the sympathetic neurons exit the cord
orientation of lateral corticospinal tract in the cord
on lateral side of the cord, between dorsal and ventral horns
leg nerves lateral
arm nerves medial
2 neurons of the corticospinal tract
UMN
LMN
3 neurons of the DCML system
- dorsal root ganglion
- nucleus gracilis or cuneatus (corticomedullary junction)
- thalamus
orientation of the DCML system in the cord
on dorsal side in between the 2 dorsal horns
wedge shaped area
acute B1 deficiency
Wernicke Korsakoff
targets: mamillary bodies, medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus, peri aqueductal structures
chronic B1 deficiency
dry beriberi
targets: peripheral nerves
B3 deficiency
pellagra
targets: cerebrum (dementia)
B6 deficiency
pyridoxine deficiency
may be caused by isoniazid
targets: peripheral nerves
B12 of Cu deficiency
subacute combined degeneration
targets: posterior columns, corticospinal tract