SF: Terms Flashcards
Aphasia
the partial or total inability to produce and understand speech as a result of brain damage caused by injury or disease
Agnosia
the total or partial loss of the ability to recognize familiar people or objects, usually caused by brain damage.
Areflexia
absence of the reflexes
Ataxia
the inability to coordinate the movements of muscles
Autonomic dysreflexia
sudden onset of excessively high blood pressure, a reaction of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system to overstimulation
Bradykinesia
Extreme slowness in movement
Brudzinski’s sign
Severe neck stiffness causes a patient’s hips and knees to flex when the neck is flexed.
Clonus
is a series of involuntary, rhythmic, muscular contractions and relaxations
Cogwheel rigidity
tension in a muscle that gives way in little jerks when the muscle is passively stretched.
Decerebrate rigidity
a posture found in those with lesions of the upper part of the brainstem or severe bilateral lesions of the cerebrum;
the patient lies in rigid extension with the arms internally rotated at the shoulders, elbows, knees, and hips extended, and fingers, ankles, and toes flexed. The jaw may be clenched with the neck hyperextended
Decorticate rigidity
abnormal flexor posturing of the limbs, indicative of a lesion in the cerebral hemispheres or disruption of the corticospinal tracts. The patient exhibits bilateral adduction of the shoulders, pronation and flexion of the elbows and wrists, and extension, internal rotation, and plantar flexion of the lower extremities
Diplopia
double vision
Dysarthria
difficulty in speaking caused by a lack of muscle control
Dysphagia
difficulty in swallowing
Dystonia
involuntary muscle spasm and twisting of the limbs
Kernig’s sign
positive when the thigh is bent at the hip and knee at 90 degree angles, and subsequent extension in the knee is painful (leading to resistance)
Hemianopsia, or hemianopia
a decreased vision or blindness (anopsia) in half the visual field, usually on one side
Hemiparesis
weakness of the entire left or right side of the body, caused by different medical conditions, including congenital causes, trauma, tumors, or stroke.
Hemiplegia
complete paralysis of half of the body
Hyperreflexia
exaggerated deep tendon reflexes, characteristic of neurological disease involving the upper motor neurons
Neurogenic shock
A type of shock in which there is insufficient blood flow throughout the body, caused by the sudden loss of signals from the sympathetic nervous system that maintain the normal muscle tone in blood vessel walls
Normotensive
normal blood pressure
Nuchal rigidity
the inability to flex the neck forward due to rigidity of the neck muscles
Paresis
muscular weakness or partial inability to move caused by disease of the nervous system. Paresis often used to describe weakness, and plegia to describe paralysis