Chapter 28: Head and Spine Injuries

Question 1

Inability to remember events after an injury

Answer 1

anterograde (posttraumatic) amnesia

Question 2

Usually occur following diffuse impact to the head (such as falls, motor vehicle crashes); generally result from extension of a linear fracture to the base of the skull and can be difficult to diagnose with a radiograph (x-ray)

Answer 2

basilar skull fractures

Question 3

Bruising behind an ear over the mastoid process that may indicate a skull fracture

Answer 3

Battle’s sign

Question 4

Swelling of the brain

Answer 4

cerebral edema

Question 5

Injury in which the brain has been injured but the skin has not been broken and there is no obvious bleeding

Answer 5

closed head injury

Question 6

A temporary loss or alteration of part or all of the brain’s abilities to function without physical damage to the brain

Answer 6

concussion

Question 7

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

Answer 7

connecting nerves

Question 8

Dual impacting of the brain into the skull; coup injury occurs at the point of impact; contrecoup injury occurs on the opposite side of impact, and the brain rebounds

Answer 8

coup-contrecoup injury

Question 9

The action of pulling the spine along its length

Answer 9

distraction

Question 10

An accumulation of blood between the skull and dura mater

Answer 10

epidural hematoma

Question 11

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

Answer 11

eyes-forward position

Question 12

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

Answer 12

four-person log roll

Question 13

The cushion that lies between two vertebrae

Answer 13

intervertebral disk

Question 14

Bleeding within the brain tissue (parenchyma) itself; also referred to as an intraparenchymal hematoma

Answer 14

intercerebral hematoma

Question 15

The pressure within the cranial vault

Answer 15

intracranial pressure (ICP)

Question 16

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

Answer 16

involuntary activities

Question 17

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 17

linear skull fractures

Question 18

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

Answer 18

meninges

Question 19

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

Answer 19

open head injury

Question 20

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

Answer 20

primary (direct) injury

Question 21

Bruising under the eyes that may indicate a skull fracture

Answer 21

raccoon eyes

Question 22

The inability to remember events leading up to a head injury

Answer 22

retrograde amnesia

Question 23

The “after effects” 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 23

secondary (indirect) injury

Question 24

Bleeding into the subarachnoid space, where the cerebrospinal fluid circulates

Answer 24

subarachnoid hemorrhage

Question 25

An accumulation of blood beneath the dura mater but outside the brain

Answer 25

subdural hematoma

Question 26

A partial or incomplete dislocation

Answer 26

subluxation

Question 27

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

Answer 27

traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Question 28

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

Answer 28

voluntary activities