Nervous System Flashcards
affect
emotional state or mood
aura
subjective sensation that occurs prior to and signals the onset of a migraine headache or a seizure
bradykinesia
extreme slowness in movement
Brudzinski sign
Pt response in which neck flexion causes flexion of the hips when the pt is lying down in a supine position
central nervous system
nerve tissue that comprises the brain and spinal cord
cerebral concussion
brief loss of consciousness or brief episode of disorientation or confusion following a head injury
cerebral contussion
injury involving bruising of brain tissue
contrecoup
rapid acceleration-deceleration injury of the brain that bruises of the front and back of the brain
corpuscallosotomy
surgical procedure in which the central part of the brain is partially divided in two
embolic
caused by a moving mass in a blood vessel (embolus)
fasciculation
visible involuntary muscle twitching
fibrillation
spontaneous muscle contraction or quivering
homeostasis
state of equilibrium in the body
Kernig sign
reflexive hamstring contraction and pain when attempting to extend the leg after flexing the hip
motor nerves
nerves involved in movement
myelin
layer of phospholipids and protein that forms the myelin sheath of neurons and acts as electrical insulation
neuron
nerve cell
neurotransmitter
chemical that plays an important role in the nerve impulse transmission
nuchal rigidity
condition that involves pain ad stiffness of the neck and a resulting reluctance to flex the head forward
paresthesia
abnormal sensation
peripheral nervous system
portion of the nervous system outside of the CNS that conveys sensory and motor impulses
sensory nerves
nerves that convey sensory information
spinal fusion
surgical immobilization of adjacent vertebrae
thrombotic
caused by a blood clot
transection
cutting
cerebr/o
encephal/o
brain
cerebrovascular
pertaining to the brain and vessels
encephalocele
herniation of the brain
gli/o
glue or gluelike
glioma
gluelike tumor
mening/o
meninges
meningitis
meningi/o
inflammation of the meninges
meningioma
tumor of the meninges
myel/o
spinal cord; bone marrow
myelography
process of recording activity in the spinal cord or bone marrow
neur/o
nerve
neurocytoma
tumor of the nerve cells
spin/o
spine
spinal
pertaining to the spine
a-
an-
without
aphasia
absence of speech
anesthesia
absence of sensation
dys-
pain or difficult
dysphagia
painful or difficult swallowing