Chapter 9 terms

Question 1

Alzheimer’s disease (AD); Alzheimer disease

Answer 1

A form of dementia from atrophy of the frontal and occipital lobes of the brain.

Question 2

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Answer 2

disease marked by muscular weakness and atrophy with involuntary contractions and excessive reflexes; caused by the degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord and in the brain’s medulla and cortex.

Question 3

astrocytoma

Answer 3

Tumor of the neuroglial tissue.

Question 4

Bell’s palsy

Answer 4

Unilateral paralysis of the nerves that control the facial muscles, causing one side of the face to droop.

Question 5

brain tumor

Answer 5

Any intracranial mass, which may be neoplastic (a new growth), cystic (a sac containing fluid), or inflammatory

Question 6

cerebral aneurysm

Answer 6

abnormal, localized dilation of a blood vessel in the cerebrum. Usually, the dilation occurs in an artery

Question 7

cerebral contusion

Answer 7

Bruising in the cerebral tissue.

Question 8

cerebral palsy

Answer 8

Disorder that affects movement and muscle tone; caused by a defect in, or trauma to, the brain before birth.

Question 9

cerebrovascular accident (CVA)

Answer 9

death of brain tissue that occurs when an arterial blockage or arterial rupture prevents blood flow to the brain, commonly called stroke

Question 10

hemorrhagic stroke

Answer 10

Type of CVA that occurs when a weakened blood vessel, such as an aneurysm, ruptures and bleeds into the surrounding tissue of the brain.

Question 11

ischemic stroke

Answer 11

Type of CVA that occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain becomes occluded. The root of ischemic stroke is atherosclerosis

Question 12

concussion

Answer 12

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from a blow to the head or violent shaking of the head and upper body. causes partial or complete loss of brain functions,

Question 13

convulsion

Answer 13

A sudden, abnormal, involuntary contraction (or series of contractions) of the muscles.

Question 14

epidural hematoma (EDH)

Answer 14

A mass of blood that forms between the skull and the dura mater as a result of the brain colliding against the skull, such as from a head injury or a fall.

Question 15

epilepsy

Answer 15

A neurological disorder of the central nervous system in which the activity of the neural cells in the brain becomes disrupted, causing seizures, unusual sensations, repeated twitching of the limbs, and, occasionally, loss of consciousness.

Question 16

Guillain-Barré syndrome; GB syndrome

Answer 16

Polyneuritis or inflammation of multiple peripheral nerves. The condition is marked by progressive muscle weakness of the extremities, which may lead to paralysis;

Question 17

headache (HA)

Answer 17

Diffuse pain in one or more parts of the head; unconfined to a particular area of nerve distribution.

Question 18

hemiparesis/hemiplegia

Answer 18

Paralysis of one side of the body

Question 19

hydrocephalus

Answer 19

Accumulation of excess cerebrospinal fluid inside the ventricles of the brain, which causes cephalomegaly

Question 20

meningocele

Answer 20

Congenital hernia in which the meninges protrude through an opening of the skull or spinal cord

Question 21

migraine

Answer 21

A headache that produces intense throbbing and pain in one area of the head and that is typically accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting and hypersensitivity to light and sound.

Question 22

multiple sclerosis (MS)

Answer 22

A chronic, slow-progressing disease of the central nervous system marked by development of thin, demyelinated glial patches called plaques

Question 23

myasthenia gravis (MG)

Answer 23

A disease of the skeletal muscles caused by disruption in neural communication between the muscles and the nerves; marked by severe weakness and fatigue.

Question 24

myelomeningocele

Answer 24

A form of spina bifida marked by protrusion of a portion of the spinal cord and the meninges through the spine

Question 25

paraplegia

Answer 25

Loss of voluntary movement in the lower half of the body,

Question 26

paresthesia

Answer 26

Sensation of numbness, prickling, or tingling, usually in the upper or lower extremities; caused by irritation of, or injury to, sensory nerves or nerve roots.

Question 27

Parkinson’s disease (PD)

Answer 27

Progressive disorder of the nervous system marked by signs such as tremor, bradykinesia

Question 28

poliomyelitis (polio)

Answer 28

Inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord; caused by a highly contagious virus.

Question 29

Reye’s (RISE) syndrome

Answer 29

A rare but serious condition that results in acute encephalopathy (brain malfunction) and hepatomegaly

Question 30

focal seizure

Answer 30

abnormal electrical activity that occurs in one or more parts of one brain hemisphere; partial seizure.

Question 31

grand mal seizure

Answer 31

An epileptic seizure characterized by violent muscle contractions and loss of consciousness;

Question 32

petit mal seizure

Answer 32

Brief, sudden lapses of consciousness, most commonly characterized by vacant staring for 10 to 15 seconds.

Question 33

shingles

Answer 33

Eruption of a painful rash, often on the trunk (torso) of the body along a peripheral nerve; caused by the varicella- zoster virus (VZV), which also causes chickenpox.

Question 34

spina bifida

Answer 34

Split spine; congenital defect in which part of the membrane covering the spinal cord protrudes through a gap in the spine.