Nervous Flashcards
Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
Brain is damaged by a sudden disruption in the flow of blood to a part of the brain {embolic} or by bleeding inside the head{hemorraghic}
Aphasia
Disturbance in language comprehension or production, often as a result of a stroke
Dysphasia
Difficult speech
Paralysis
Absence of strength secondary to nervous impairment
Hemiparesis
Partial paralysis of the right or left half of the body
Diplopia
Double vision
Transient Ischemic Attack (mini-stroke)
temporary episodes with a duration of less than 24 hours of impaired neurologic functioning caused by an inadequate flow of blood to a portion of the brain
Ulcer
A deep loss of skin surface that may extend into the dermis; may cause periodic bleeding and the formation of scars.
Concussion
A loss of function, either partial or complete, as resulting from a blow or fall (for instance)
Contusion
A bruise
Contrecoup
also known as a counter blow, is an injury that occurs beneath the skull opposite to the area of impact
Epidural hematoma
Collection of blood that forms between the skull and the dura mater
Dura mater
Outermost layer of the meninges
Subdural hematoma
blood collects btween the dura mater and the arachnoid membrane
Arachnoid membrane
Middle layer of the three membranes (meninges) that surround the brain and spinal cord
Craniotomy
Incision into the skill
Cerebral concussion
Temporary brain dysfunction (brief loss of consciousness) after injury, usually clearing within 24 hours
Cerebral contusion
Bruising of brain tissue as a result of direct trauma to the head; neurologic deficits persist longer than 24 hours
Depressed skull fracture
-bone pressed inward into the brain tissue to at least the thickness of the skull; skull depressed : may cause bruising or tearing of dura and lead to menengitis or seizures, -skull depressed : may cause bruising or tearing of dura and lead to menengitis or seizure
Hemiplegia
Paralysis of one side of the body
Battle’s signs
Bruising behind the ears (over the mastoid process); a very late sign of skull fracture.
Raccoon eyes
Basal skull fracture
Nuchal rigidity
Neck stiffness
Paraplegia
Paralysis from the waist down
Quadriplegia
loss of nerve function at the cervical region resulting in paralysis of the arms, hands, trunk, and legs.
Degenerative Disk
A condition in which an intervertebral disk loses its normal structural integrity as a result of wear and tear, acute or repeated injuries or aging
Electromyogram
A graphical record of electric currents associated with muscle contractions
Analgesic
A medicine used to relieve pain
NSAIDS
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
Herniated disk
herniation or rupture of the nucleus pulposus (center gelatinous material within an intervertebral disk) between two vertebrae, also called prolapsed disk;
a herniated disk places pressure on a spinal root nerve or the spinal cord. Displacement of the disk irritates the spinal nerves, causing muscle spasm and pain, occurs most commonly in the lower spine
Nucleus pulposus
The central, soft portion of a disk;
Sciatic nerve
Longest and thickest nerve of the body (L4-S3)
Sciatica
Inflammation of the sciatic nerve
Spinal stenosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal
Cephalalgia (headache)
It involves pain anywhere within the cranial cavity varying in intensity from mild to severe, may be chronic or acute, and may occur as a result of a disease process or be totally benign. The majority of headaches are transient and produce mild pain that is relieved by a mild analgesic.
Migraine
A severe headache, often unilateral, and sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
Tension headache
a dull, bilateral, or diffuse headache that is often described as a pressure or squeezing sensation of mild to moderate intensity. This type of headache has no accompanying migraine features (such as nausea), and its pain does not prohibit activity, characteristics that do not match this patient’s symptoms. Headache triggered by stress is often mistaken as tension-type headache, even though stress is one of the most commonly reported migraine triggers. Up to 75% of patients with migraine report neck pain that precedes or occurs during the attack, and this scenario is frequently mistaken for tension-type headache.
Vascular headache
Pain arises from the vascular system–cluster or migraine headaches due to inappropriate vasoconstriction of the arteries
Epilepsy
Sudden episodes of abnormal intense electrical activity in the brain
Parkinson’s
slowly progressive disorder onset of recognizable disturbances:a ‘pill-rolling” tremor of the thumb and forefinger, muscular rigidity, slowness of movement, and post ural instabiltiy
Huntington’s chorea
hereditary degenerative disease of the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia progressive atrophy of the brain occurs
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Progressive, motor neuron disease that results in muscular atrophy
Fasciculations
Involuntary contractions or twitchings of muscle fibers
Biopsy
Diagnostic examination of a piece of tissue from the living body
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)
Irresistible urge to move the legs
Transient Global Amnesia
Sudden onset of compete anterograde amnesia and learning abilities, pronounced retrograde amnesia, preservation of memory for personal identity, anxious awareness of memory loss with repeated and often perseverative questioning, overall normal behavior
Neuropathy/peripheral neuritis
Degeneration of the peripheral nerves
Trigeminal Neuralgia/tic douloureux
pains that are innervated by the fifth cranial nerve/trigeminal nerve
Bell’s palsy
disorder of the facial nerve (seventh cranial) that causes a onset of weakness or paralysis of facial muscles
Meningitis
Acute infection of the meninges.
Encephalitis
inflammation of brain tissue
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
acute . rapidly progressive disease of the spinal nerves
Brain abscess
Collection of pus
Poliomyelitis
Viral infection of the anterior horn cells of the gray matter of the spinal cord
Causes a selective destruction of the motor neurons
Brain tumors
both benign and malignant, are space-occupying lesions that cause increased ICP and localized dysfunction related to their location, S&S - increased ICP, morning headaches, vomiting, seizures
