Cerebral Palsy Flashcards
Antenatal
Concerned with the care and treatment of the unborn child and mother
Apoptosis
A form of cell death in which a programmed sequence of events leads to the elimination of cells without releasing harmful substances into the swrounding area. Apoptosis plays a crucial role in developing and maintaining health by eliminating old, unnecessary, and unhealthy cells
Ataxia
Incoordination and unsteadiness due to the brain’s failure to regulate the body’s posture and regulate the strength and direction of limb movements
Athetosis
Involuntary movements, including writhing movements, particularly of the arms and hands
Choreoathetosis
Irregular involuntary movements that many involve the face, neck, trunk, extremities, or respiratory muscles, giving an appearance of restlessness
Encephalitis
An inflammation of the brain usually caused by a viral infection
Encephalopathy
A term that means brain disease, damage, or malfunction. Can present a very broad spectrum of symptoms that range from mild, such as some memory loss or subtle personality changes, to severe, such as dementia, seizures, coma, or death. In general, it is manifested by an altered mental state that is sometimes accompanied by physical manifestations (for example, poor coordination of limb movements)
Flaccidity
A decrease in the tone of a muscle
Homeostasis
The ability of the body or a cell to seek and maintain a condition of equilibrium or stability within its internal environment when dealing with external changes
Hydrocephalus
A condition in which the primary characteristic is excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. This results in an abnormal widening of spaces in the brain called ventricles. This widening creates potentially harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain
Hyperbilirubinaemia
A condition in which there is too much bilirubin in the blood caused by the breakdown of red blood cells. Also has a pigment that causes a yellowing of the skin called jaundice
Hypercoagulable state
A condition in which there is an abnormally increased tendency toward blood clotting (coagulation)
Interventricular haemorrhage
A condition in which blood vessels within the brain burst and bleed into the hollow chambers (ventricles) normally reserved for cerebrospinal fluid and into the tissue surrounding them. The condition is most often seen in premature babies
Microcephaly
A congenital anomaly characterized by abnormal smallness of the head in relation to the rest of the body and by underdevelopment of the brain, resulting in some degree of impaired mental health
Parasagittal
Situated alongside of or adjacent to a sagittal location or a sagittal plane (the longitudinal plane that divides the body into right and left sections)
Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)
A type of brain injury that affects infants. The condition involves the death of small areas of brain tissue around fluid-filled areas called ventricles. The damage creates “holes” in the brain. “Leuko” refers to the brain’s white matter and “peri” refers to the ventricles
Periventricular white matter
Refers to white matter that is immediately to the side of the two lateral ventricles of the brain. The lateral ventricles are two curved openings (shaped like a horseshoe) located deep within the top section of the brain
Polycythemia
A condition that results in an increased level of circulating red blood cells in the bloodstream. Formally exists when the hemoglobin, red blood cell (RBC) count, and total RBC volume are all above normal
Preeclampsia
A condition in pregnancy characterized by abrupt hypertension (a sharp rise in blood pressure), albuminuria (leakage of large amounts of the protein albumin into the urine) and edema (swelling) of the hands, feet, and face. This is the most common complication of pregnancy and affects about 5% of pregnancies. It occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy
Primitive reflexes
Reflex actions originating in the central nervous system that are exhibited by normal infants but not neurologically intact adults, in response to particular stimuli. These reflexes disappear or are inhibited by the frontal lobes as a child moves through normal child development
Spasticity
An increase in the tone of a muscle resulting from an increase in the deep tendon reflexes
