Neurological Flashcards
Bell’s Palsy
A temp. Form of facial paralysis (not a stroke)
Cerebral aneurysm
Weakness in the wall of a artery or vein causes ballooning of the blood vessel
Cerebral Palsy
Neuromuscular condition of the hypertonia and spasticity in the muscles of the lower extremities of the human body
Hemorrhagic stroke
Occurs when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain causing swelling and increase pressure on the brain
Hydrocephalus
Buildup of fluid inside the skull, leading to brain swelling
Meningitis
Swelling and irritation (inflammation) of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord
Automatic neuropathy
Affects internal organs such as the heart, blood vessels, and bladder or intestines
Parkinson’s disease
A degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that impairs the sufferer’s motor skills, cognitive processes, and other functions
Peripheral neuropathy
Damage to nerves of the peripheral nervous system, causing numbness and pain in hands and feet
A&O
Alert and oriented to person, place, and time
AMS
Altered mental status
Aphasia
Inability to speak
Ataxia
Lack of coordination such as staggering gait
Cranial nerves
Twelve pairs (olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal accessory, hypoglossal)
CVA
Cerebrovascular accident (stoke), the rapid loss of brain function due to disturbance in blood supply to the brain
Dementia
Loss of brain function affecting memory, thinking, language, judgement, and behavior
DTR’s
Deep tendon reflexes (triceps, bicep, brachioradialis, paralysis, patellar, or Achilles)
Dysarthria
Motor speech disorder due to weakness, paralysis, or muscular in-coordination, characterized by poor articulation
Epidural Abscess
A collection of pus between the outer covering of the brain and spinal cord and bones of the skull or spine
Epidural hematoma
Traumatic brain injury where a buildup of blood occurs between the dura mater and the skull
Epilepsy
Brain disorder involving repeated, spontaneous seizures of any type
Focal nerve deficit
A problem in nerve, spinal cord, or brain function that affects a specific location
Gag reflex
Reflex contraction of the back of the throat, evoked by touching the soft palate
HA
Headache
Hemiparesis
Weakness on one side of the body
Hemiplegia
Total paralysis on one side of the body
Intracranial hemorrhage
Bleeding within the skull, occurs when a blood vessel within the skull is ruptured or leaks and can result from physical trauma or no traumatic causes such as a ruptured aneurysm
LOC - loss of consciousness
Mental state involving complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli
MAE
Moves all extremities
Paresthesias
Sensation of numbness/tingling/pricking of a persons skin
Post-ictal
The altered state of consciousness that’s person enters after experiencing a seizure
Resting tremor
Occurs when a body part is at complete rest against gravity
Saddle anesthesia
Loss of sensation restricted to the area of the buttocks and perineum
SAH
Subarachnoid hemorrhage- sudden bleeding into the subarachnoid space
Sensation
Perception of a stimulus such as touch
Gran mal (tonic clonic)
Generalized seizure that affects the entire brain
Focal
Seizure affecting only part of the brain
Petit mal
Absence of seizure
Marching
A clonic seizure that begins in one area of the body (typically hand or foot) and moves progressively towards the other side of the body
Subdural hematoma
A collection of blood on the surface of the brain
Syncope near
Occurs when individuals can remember events during the episode, not a total loss of consciousness
TIA - transient ischemic attack
A mini stroke that comes and goes quickly. Happens when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in your brain causing the blood supply to the brain to briefly stop
Tinnitus
An abnormal noise in the ear, such as ringing or swishing sound
Vertigo
Type of dizziness where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary
Babinski
Neurological test based upon what the big toe does when the sole of the foot is stimulated; normal is toes going down
Cerebellar Function- coordination
Romberg, abnormal coordination, abnormal gait
Romberg
Patient is stood up and asked to close his eyes, a loss of balance is interpreted as a positive Romberg Sign and is abnormal
FNF
Test of coordination where the patient is asked to alternately touch their nose and the examiner’s finger
Dysmetria: when patients cannot perform point to point movements
Alternate rapid hand movement
Patient is asked to strike one hand on the dorsum of the other hand, raise the hand, turn it over, and then strike it back down as fast as possible
Clonus
A series of involuntary muscular contractions due to sudden stretching of the muscle
GCS (Glasgow coma scale)
Neurological scale aiming to give a reliable way of recording the conscious state of a person; measures eyes, verbal, and motor response; 15 is Normal
Meningismus
Signs and symptoms suggestive of meningitis; headache, stiff neck
Mentation (mental status)
Alert, lethargic, listless, unresponsive, oriented X3, disoriented
Somnolent
Extremely sleepy or drowsy
Obtunded
Depressed level of consciousness, mentally dulled
Motor
Abnormal tone, atrophy, tremor, seizure activity
Atrophy
Decrease in the muscle mass leading to muscle weakness
Strength
Rated on a scale of 0-5/5, measures the muscles of the upper and lower extremities
Muscle tone
The continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles
Posturing
An involuntary flexion or extension of the arms and legs
Contracture
A shortening of a muscle or joint, usually in response to prolonged hypertonic spasticity in a concentrated muscle area
Nuchal rigidity
Inability to flex the head forward due to rigidity of the neck muscles
Sensation
Perception of a stimulus such as touch with normal being sensation intact
Valproic avid level
Measure and monitors the amount of valproic acid in the blood to determine whether the drug concentration is within the therapeutic range
Carbamazepine level total
Measure and monitors the amount of carbamazepine in the blood to determine whether the level of drug is within the therapeutic range
Phenytoin level total
Measure and monitors the amount of phenytoin in the blood to determine whether the level of drug is within the therapeutic range
Prolactin
Measures the level of prolactin, which is made by the pituitary gland, in the blood
EEG
Electroencephalogram measures the electrical activity of the brain
Head CT
Computed tomography of the head either without contrast or without con-stroke proto
Head MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging of the head, not frequently done in the ED
VL duplex carotid
Ultrasound test showing how well blood is flowing through the carotid arteries
Craniectomy
Surgery involving the removal of a bone flap from the skull, but the bone flap isn’t returned to its location which is used when an individuals brain is swelling to a degree that it could cause damage to the brain
Craniotomy
Surgery where a bone flap is removed to allow a surgeon access to the brain, and then the bone flap is returned to its previous location where it can heal and mend like any broken bone
Lumbar puncture
A procedure used to collect and look at the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, also called a spinal tap
Anti-seizure medications A-L
Acetazolamide (Diamox)
Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
Carbamazepine (Carbatrol); fast-acting
Clonzepam (Klonopin)
Divalproex sodium (Depakote)
Felbamate (Felbatol)
Gabapentin (Neurontin)
Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
Levetiracetam (Keppra)
Lorazepam (Ativan)
Anti-seizure medications O-V
Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
Phenobarbital
Phenytoin (Dilantin)
Pregabalin (Lyrica)
Topiramate (Topamax)
Triagabine (Gabitril)
Valproate (Depakene)
Anti-platelet medications (used to prevent and reduce the risk of stoke)
Aspirin
Dipyridamole (Aggrenox)
Clopidogrel (Plavix)
Ticlopidine (Ticlid)
Vertigo treatment medications
Phenergan
Antivert
