PRELIMS: Sensory Assessment (and conditions) Flashcards
How to test for Sharp/Dull Discrimination
Instrument: Safety pin or paper clip.
Technique: Randomly apply sharp or dull stimuli.
Response: Patient identifies stimulus as sharp or dull.
How to test for Temperature Awareness
Instrument: Test tubes with cold (41°F-50°F) and warm (104°F-113°F) water.
Technique: Apply cold or warm stimuli.
Response: Patient identifies stimulus as hot or cold.
How to test for Touch Awareness
Instrument: Camel-hair brush, cotton swab, monofilaments.
Technique: Lightly touch or stroke the skin.
Response: Patient indicates when stimulus is felt.
Autotopagnosia
Inability to locate, identify, and orient one’s body parts.
How to test for Tactile Localization
Technique: Apply touch stimulus to the skin.
Response: Patient identifies the location of the touch.
How to test for Proprioceptive Awareness
Instrument: Therapist moves extremity or joint and holds it in a static position.
Technique: Avoid excessive tactile stimulation.
Response: Patient describes the position or matches it with the contralateral extremity.
How to test for Double Simultaneous Stimulation
Technique: Simultaneously touch identical locations on opposite sides or different points on the same side.
Response: Patient indicates when and how many stimuli are felt.
How to test for Kinesthesia Awareness
Instrument: Therapist moves extremity or joint through a range of motion.
Technique: Reduce tactile stimulation.
Response: Patient describes direction and range of movement.
How to test for Graphesthesia
nstrument: Tool for tracing letters/numbers.
Technique: Trace figures on the skin.
Response: Patient identifies the traced figures verbally or by selecting from images.
How to test for Pressure Perception
Instrument: Fingertip or double-tipped cotton swab.
Technique: Apply firm pressure on the skin.
Response: Patient indicates when pressure is felt.
Allodynia VS Anaglesia
for what sensation?
Allodynia : Pain produced by a non-noxious stimulus
Analgesia : Complete loss of pain sensitivity.
for Pain
Agnosia
Inability to understand the meaning of sensory stimuli despite intact sensory pathways.
How to test for Vibration Perception
Instrument: Tuning fork (128 Hz).
Technique: Place vibrating fork on bony prominence.
Response: Patient indicates if stimulus is vibrating or non-vibrating.
How to test for Barognosis
Instrument: Discrimination weights of graduated weight.
Technique: Place weights in the hand one at a time or simultaneously.
Response: Patient identifies the comparative weight of objects.
Hypaglesia VS Hyperaglesia
for what sensation?
Hypalgesia : Decreased sensitivity to pain.
Hyperalgesia: Increased sensitivity to pain.
PAIN
How to test for Stereognosis Perception
Instrument: Various objects (keys, coins).
Technique: Place object in patient’s hand.
Response: Patient names the object or selects it from images.
Prosopagnosia
Inability to recognize faces.
How to test for Two-Point Discrimination
Technique: Measure the smallest distance between two stimuli that can still be perceived as two distinct points.
Response: Patient identifies if one or two stimuli are felt.
Grading: <6 mm (good), 6-15 mm (fair), 11-15 mm (poor).
Agraphognosia
Inability to recognize letters traced on the skin.
How to test for Recognition of Texture
Instrument: Textures like cotton, wool, burlap, silk.
Technique: Place textures in patient’s hand.
Response: Patient identifies the texture by name or description.
Failure to attend to the left side of space, often due to right parietal lesions.
Left-Side Hemispatial Inattention
Failure to perceive simultaneous stimuli on opposite sides of the body, usually after right parietal lesions.
Inattention to Double Simultaneous Cutaneous Stimuli
Graphesthesia
Inability to recognize figures traced on the skin.
Inability to perform a voluntary act despite intact motor, sensory systems, and mental status.
Apraxia
Lack of awareness of a neurological deficit, often seen with right parietal lesions.
Anosognosia
Agnosia
Inability to identify objects by touch despite intact sensation.
Gait Apraxia (Bruns Ataxia)
Difficulty with initiating or executing walking.
Bucco-facial Apraxia
Difficulty with facial movements (e.g., sticking out tongue).
Ideomotor Apraxia
Difficulty performing motor actions on command but can do them automatically.
Dressing Apraxia
Difficulty with dressing appropriately, often linked to right parietal lesions.
Constructional Apraxia
Difficulty with copying or constructing geometric figures.
Topagnosia
Inability to localize skin stimuli.
Which nerve fibers are primarily responsible for transmitting sharp, acute pain?
A-delta fibers
Explain the significance of testing the patient’s ability to recognize texture during a sensory examination.
it evaluates the combined cortical sensations which require intact exteroceptive and proprioceptive receptors.
Differentiate between the functions of the anterolateral spinothalamic pathway and the dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway.
The anterolateral spinothalamic pathway transmits pain and temperature, while the dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway transmits discriminative touch and proprioception.
Describe the significance of the labeled line principle in sensory perception.
It indicates that each type of sensory nerve fiber is sensitive lo a single modality of sensation.
A patient is asked to identify an object placed in their hand without looking at it. This test evaluates which type of sensation?
Stereognosis
During a sensory examination, a patient is unable to feel light touch on the tips of their fingers but can feel it on their palms. Which spinal tract is likely compromised?
Dorsal column-medial lemniscal tract
A term that describes the sensation of pain originating from a stimulus that would not normally provoke pain.
Allodynia
Which spinal pathway is primarily involved in transmitling pain and temperature sensations?
Anterolateral spinothalamic pathway
Which sensory receptor is responsible for detecting deep pressure and vibration?
Pacinian corpuscles
A patient complains of numbness in a specific dermatome following a spinal injury. Which examination technique would be most appropriate?
Sensory testing of each dermatome
