Chapter 16. Disorders of Brain Function Flashcards
Describe the water shed region?
-1st area of damage when blood flow to the brain drops suddenly
What are common pathways of Brain damage?
-Effects of ischemia ( reduced blood supply to the brain)
-Excitatory amino acid injury(excessive release chemicals)
-Cerebral edema( excess fluid)
-Injury due to increased intracranial; pressure
What are conditions that cause injury to the brain?
-Trauma
-tumors
-stroke
-metabolic derangements like dka
-Degenerative disorders
**Classifications of skull fractures
What is simple/linear frcature?
-Break in the continuity of bone
-straight edged, linear,
**Classifications of skull fractures
What is a comminuted fracture?
A splintered or multiple fracture line
**Classifications of skull fractures
What is depressed fracture ?
-Bone fragments are embedded into brain tissue, the fracture is said to be depressed
**Classifications of skull fractures
What is a basilar fracture?
A fracture of the bones that form in the base of the skull
**Levels of consciousness
1.What is full consciousness?
Awake, alert, and ready to party
**Levels of consciousness
2.What is confusion?
Progressively disorientation, forgets stuff, difficulty following commands
-restless/agitated
**Levels of consciousness
3.What is lethargy?
-Alert and oriented x3(person, place and time)
-But is sluggish
-Sleeps frequently but awakens to voice or gentle shaking
**Levels of consciousness
4.What is obtundation?
-Extreme drowsiness, minimally responsive, barely follows commands, -Requires vigorous stimulation to awaken
-stays awake for a few minutes
-pinch someone to wake them up
**Levels of consciousness
5. What is stupor?
-Minimal movement
-Repsonds in groans and moans
-Awakens briefly only with repeated stimulation
-Like being passed out drunk
**Levels of consciousness
6. What is coma ?
Does not respond to verbal stimuli, does not speak,
-Decorticate/decerebrate posturing
-no response to pain
**Levels of consciousness
7. What is delirium ?
- State of altered level of consciousness that is an emergency
-The person is experiencing psychosis.
What is the criteria for diagnosis of vegetative/brain death state?
-NO longer aware
No longer able to act
-No voluntary behavior response
-Do not understand language
-Incontinence with bowel/ bladder
-Erratic cranial nerve responses
Has to continued for a month
What is hypoxia to the brain?
-Decreased oxygen with blood flow maintained to supply the brain.
-somewhere else in the body can be stopping o2 from being distributed onto the brain
What is ischemia to brain ?
-Reduced or interrupted blood flow
-Focal cerebral ischemia -Stroke
-Global cerebral ischemia- MI
Describe intracranial pressure
pressure within skull increases
Used to describe pressure within the skull because of the structure of brain and surround tissues
-Should be at 0-15 mmHg of mercury
Because brain is housed by skull that does not move if anything damages the brain then pressure will increase which can cause brain injury.
created by csf,blood
Brain injury can occur by:
-Obstructs cerebral blood flow
-Destroy brain cells
-Displaces brain tissue
-Damages delicate brain structure
What is brain herniation
The brain could be irritated, in a state of torchon,rubbing, or abrasion of brain
something inside brain produces pressured that moves brain tissue
What is hydrocephalus
-An abnormal increase in CSF volume in any part or all of the ventricular system
-Enlargement of the CSF compartment occurs
-Pressure build up do to extra CSF in the ventricles
What are types of hydrocephalus?
-Communicating
Decreased absorption of CSF
-Non communicating
Overproduction of CSF
What is cerebral edema? *
-Occurs on outside of brain usually from disruption in blood-brain barrier
-not in central part where the ventricles are but on the outside of the brain
What is primary/direct injuries?
-Damage caused by impact, something is hitting the brain
-Include diffuse axonal injury and the focal lesions of laceration, contusion, and hemorrhage
What secondary injuries?
-Damage results from subsequent brain swelling, infections, and cerebral hypoxia
What is direct impact brain injury?
-Would be like bumping head
-Head is hit in a localized way
-Could be when someone gets a bump, blow, jolt to head that disrupts normal brain function
-could be motor vehicle crashes, falls, and assault
What is acceleration -deceleration injury?
-Causes cortext to impact forcefully to the anterior and middle fossa. Brain moving back and fourth
-This could be cause by a accident where you are forced to stop and your brain goes back