Neurological Assessment Flashcards
Number of spinal nerves
8C, 12T, 5L, 5S, 1C
Function of the autonomous nervous system
Maintains involuntary functions of cardiac and smooth muscle of the viscera and glands
Function of the sympathetic nervous system
Produces body to action during periods of physiologic and psychologic stress
Function of the parasympathetic nervous system
Complements and counterbalances the SYN to conserve body resources and day-to-day functions
SCAT
Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, a way to measure concussions, often used as a baseline
Cranial nerves responsible for difficulty swallowing
9 (glossopharyngeal) and 10 (vagus)
Important cranial nerves in neurological assessment
2, 3, 7, 9, 10
Three indicators of the Glasgow Coma Scale
- Eye opening
- Verbal response
- Motor response
Range of the GCS
15 to 3
Oriented x 3
Patient knows their name, the time, and their location
GCS eye opening scores
4 - Spontaneously
3 - To speech
2 - To pain
1 - None
GCS best verbal response scores
5 - Oriented 4 - Confused 3 - Inappropriate 2 - Incomprehensible 1 - None
GCS best motor response scores
6 - Obeys commands 5 - Localizes 4 - Withdraws 3 - Flexion 2 - Extension 1 - None
Widening pulse pressure
Emergency situation; could indicate increasing ICP
Wernicke’s area
- Temporal lobe
- Language comprehension
Receptive aphasia
Issues with language comprehension. Speech and writing can be produced, but they do not understand what is being asked of them. They do not know there is a problem
Broca’s area
- Frontal lobe
- Speech production
Expressive aphasia
The ability to understand language, but the inability to produce speech
Central pressure points
Trapezius squeeze, supraorbital pressure
Decerebrate posture
- Damage to upper brain stem
- Arms adducted/extended, wrists pronated, fingers flexed, legs extended, feet plantarflexed
Decorticate posture
- Damage to corticospinal tract(s)
- Arms adducted/flexed, wrists/fingers flexed on chest, legs extended/internally rotated, feet plantarflexed
20/40 vision
Must stand at 20 feet to see what an individual with 20/20 vision can see at 40 feet.