T. Peripheral Nerve and Spinal Cord

Question 1

peripheral neuropathies

Answer 1

a result of damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves), often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in the hands and feet.

usually involve motor, sensory, or both

Question 2

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Answer 2

• condition characterized by pain coming from the trigeminal nerve, which starts near the top of the ear and splits in three, toward the eye, cheek and jaw.
• Paroxysms of flashing
• Stabbing pain
• Attacks are usually brief
• Usually initiated by a triggering mechanism

Question 3

Bell’s Palsy

Answer 3

• unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis
• disruption of the motor branches of CN VII
• One side of the face

Question 4

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Answer 4

• a rare, autoimmune disorder in which a person’s own immune system damages the nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis
• Acute, rapidly progressing polyneuritis
• Manifests as symmetrical ascending paralysis from the results in loss of myelin, inflammation and edema of the affected nerves.

Question 5

polyneuritis

Answer 5

the simultaneous malfunction of many peripheral nerves throughout the body.

Question 6

Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries

Answer 6

result of external physical impact

Question 7

non-traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries

Answer 7

result of disease, infection, or tumour

Question 8

Primary injury - SCI

Answer 8

• Initial mechanical disruption of axons as a result of stretch or laceration
• Actual physical disruption of axons

Question 9

Secondary injury - SCI

Answer 9

• Ongoing, progressive damage that occurs after initial injury
• Ischemia, hypoxia, microhemorrhage, and edema

Question 10

Complete cord damage

Answer 10

in severe trauma related to autodestruction of cord

Petechial hemorrhages are in central grey matter of cord shortly after injury.

Question 11

Petechial hemorrhages

Answer 11

areas of pericapillary (tissues surrounding a capillary) bleeding

Question 12

Initial Injury

Answer 12

• Apoptosis occurs and may continue for weeks or months after initial injury.
• Resulting hypoxia reduced oxygen tension below level that meets metabolic needs of spinal cord
• By ≤24 hours, permanent damage may occur because of edema (harmful because of lack of space for tissue expansion.)
• Resultant compression of cord and extension of edema above and below injury increase ischemic damage.

Question 13

Spinal shock

Answer 13

• altered physiologic state immediately after a spinal cord injury
• Decreased reflexes
• Loss of sensation
• Flaccid paralysis below level of injury
• Experienced by about 50% of people with acute spinal cord injury

Question 14

Neurogenic shock

Answer 14

• condition in which you have trouble keeping your heart rate, blood pressure and temperature stable because of damage to your nervous system after a spinal cord injury
• Loss of vasomotor tone caused by injury
• Loss of sympathetic nervous system innervation causes
– Peripheral vasodilation
– Venous pooling
– Decreased cardiac output

Question 15

Flexion injury of the cervical spine

Answer 15

ruptures the posterior ligaments.

Question 16

Hyperextension injury of the cervical spine

Answer 16

ruptures the anterior ligaments

Question 17

Compression fractures

Answer 17

crush the vertebrae and force bony fragments into the spinal canal