Chapter 26 - Head and Spine Injuries | Vital Vocabulary

Question 1

Nerves in the spinal cord that connect the motor and sensory nerves.

Answer 1

connecting nerves

Question 2

Dual impacting of the brain into the skull; coup injury occurs at the point of impact; contercoup injury occurs on the opposite side of impact, as the brain rebounds.

Answer 2

coup-countercoup injury

Question 3

The action of pulling the spine along its length.

Answer 3

distraction

Question 4

An accumulation of blood between the skull and the dura mater.

Answer 4

epidural hematoma

Question 5

A head position in which the patient’s eyes are looking straight ahead and the head and torso are in line.

Answer 5

eyes-forward position

Question 6

The recommended procedure for moving a patient with a suspected spinal injury from the ground to a long backboard.

Answer 6

four-person log roll

Question 7

The cushion that lies between two vertebrae.

Answer 7

intervertebral disk

Question 8

Bleeding within the brain tissue itself; also referred to as an intraparenchymal hematoma.

Answer 8

intracerebral hematoma

Question 9

The pressure within the cranial vault.

Answer 9

intracranial pressure ( ICP )

Question 10

Actions of the body that are not under a person’s conscious control.

Answer 10

involuntary activities

Question 11

Account for 80% of skull fractures; also referred to as nondisplaced skull fractures; commonly occur in the temporal-parietal region of the skull; not associated with deformities to the skull.

Answer 11

linear skull fractures

Question 12

Three distinct layers of tissue that surround and protect the brain and the spinal cord within the skull and the spinal canal.

Answer 12

meninges

Question 13

Injury to the head often caused by a penetrating object in which there may be bleeding and exposed brain tissue.

Answer 13

open head injury

Question 14

An injury to the brain and its associated structures that is a direct result of impact to the head.

Answer 14

primary injury

Question 15

Bruising under the eyes that may indicate a skull fracture.

Answer 15

raccoon eyes

Question 16

The inability to remember events leading up to a head injury.

Answer 16

retrograde amnesia

Question 17

The “after affects” of the primary injury; includes abnormal processes such as cerebral edema, increased intracranial pressure, cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, and infection; onset is often delayed following the primary brain injury.

Answer 17

secondary injury

Question 18

Bleeding into the subarachnoid space, where the cerebrospinal fluid circulates.

Answer 18

subarachnoid hemorrhage

Question 19

A partial or incomplete dislocation.

Answer 19

subluxation

Question 20

A traumatic insult to the brain capable of producing physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and vocational changes.

Answer 20

traumatic brain injury ( TBI )

Question 21

Actions that we consciously perform, in which sensory input or conscious thought determines a specific muscular activity.

Answer 21

voluntary activities