Spinal Cord Injury in the Acute Setting Flashcards
What are the white matter?
Myelinated tracts in the peripheral
What are the gray matter?
Neuronal cell bodies, glial cells, and located centrally
What do the anterior horns control?
Somatic muscles
What do the posterior horns control?
Sensation
What is another way of thinking of somatic movement?
Conscious movement (voluntary)
What is the difference between afferent and efferent?
Afferent is to the brain; efferent is from the brain
Upper Motor Neuron damages happen:
Within the spinal cord: increased muscle tone, reflexes and spasticity
Lower Motor Neuron damages happen:
At the anterior horn cell or nerve root exiting through the spinal nerves: decreased muscle tone, absent stretch reflex, flaccidity
Spino- refers to
Sensory
-Spinal refers to
Motor
What are some of the spinal tracts that involve with sensory function?
Ascending/ afferent Spino=sensory Spinothalamic tract Dorsal/ Posterior Column Tract Spinocerebellar Tract
What is the lateral spinothalamic tract responsible for?
Pain and temperature sensation
What is the anterior spinothalamic tract responsible for?
Crude touch and pressure sensation
What is the dorsal/posterior column tract responsible for?
Vibration, deep touch, 2 point discrimination, joint position sense
What is the spinocerebellar tract responsible for?
Proprioception information to the cerebellum
Which tracts are involved with the subconscious tract?
Vestibulospinal Tectospinal Superior Colliculi Reticulospinal Rubrospinal
Which tract is involved with voluntary control of the skeletal muscle?
Corticospinal tract
What would you see with damage to the corticospinal tract?
Increased tone, increased reflexes, paralysis, + Babinski reflex
Which tract is responsible for inner ear info to assess head position?
Vestibulospinal
Which tract is responsible for information to the head, neck and limbs in response to loud noise, sudden movement, brightness?
Tectospinal:
Superior colliculi: visual info
Inferior colliculi: auditory info
Where is the sympathetic nervous system located?
T1-L2/L3 and contain afferent/sensory nerves
Where does the parasympathetic nervous system locate?
Brainstem, cranial nerves 3, 7, 9, 10. Located in sacral spinal cord: S2 - S4
True or False: Dilating blood vessels leading to the GI tract is part of the sympathetic nervous system.
False; this is part of the sympathetic nervous system
What are common causes for spinal cord injuries?
Motor vehicle collisions
Falls
Where would you expect the level of injury would be for patients with quadriplegia?
Cervical region
True or False: Pain is not a complication of SCI.
False; pain is a complication of SCI
C3, C4, C5 will…
… Keep the diaphragm alive
What is C5 responsible for?
Elbow flexion, supination, weak shoulder flexors
Full innervation of rhomboids
What is C6 responsible for?
Stability and power of shoulder joint, tenodesis grasp
What is C7 responsible for?
Wrist flexors, pronators
What is C8 responsible for?
Active grip and release of hand
What is L1 responsible for?
Trunk stability, QL
What is L2 responsible for?
Flexors, adductors
What is L3 responsible for?
Knee extensors
What is L4 responsible for?
Ankle dorsiflexors
What is L5 responsible for?
Great toe extension, ankle eversion, inversion, hip abductors
At what level of SCI would you least likely see wrist and finger dysfunction?
C4
C5
C6
C8
C8
What would you see in spinal shock?
Absent sensation
Absent motor control
Areflexia
Loss of autonomic control
What would you see in neurogenic shock (injuries above T6)?
Bradycardia
Hypotension
Thermoregulation
What are cardiovascular signs of an autonomic nervous system injury?
Neurogenic shock, orthostatic hypotension, autonomic dysreflexia, cardiac dysrhythmia
What are bowel signs of an autonomic nervous system injury?
Absent sensation
Incontinence, constipation
What are bladder signs of an autonomic nervous system injury?
Detrusor sphincter, dyssynergia activity (remember hypo-, hyper-)
What are sweating signs of an autonomic nervous system injury?
Hyperhidrosis, hypohidroses, reflex sweating below injury
What are temperature signs related to autonomic nervous system injury?
Intolerance of hot/cold, poikliothermia
What are the sexual signs related to autonomic nervous system injury?
Erectile dysfunction, ejaculation, vaginal lubrication