Vocabulary Flashcards
Alertness
Responds appropriately; can open eyes, look at examiner, respond fully and appropriately to stimuli
Lethargy
Patient appears drowsy; can open eyes and look at examiner, respond to questions, but falls asleep easily
Obtundation
Patient can open eyes, look at examiner, but responds slowly and is confused; demonstrates decreased alertness and interest in environment
Stupor
Patient can be aroused from sleep only with painful stimuli; verbal responses are slow or absent; patient returns to unresponsive state when stimuli are removed; demonstrates minimal awareness of self and environment
Coma
A state of unconsciousness from which a patient cannot be aroused, eyes remain closed; no response to external stimuli or environment
Unresponsive vigilance (vegetative) state
A state characterized by the return of sleep/wake cycles, normalization of vegetative functions (respiration, HR, BP, digestion) and lack of cognitive responsiveness (can be aroused but is unaware)
Persistent vegetative state
a state lasting > 1 year for TBI and > 3 months for anoxic brain injury
Minimally conscious state (MCS)
A state characterized by severely altered consciousness with minimal but definite evidence of self or environmental awareness
Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS):
Eye opening Motor response Verbal response severe:1-8 moderate: 9-12 minor: 13-15
Non fluent aphasia (Broca’s motor aphasia, expressive aphasia)
A central language disorder in which speech is typically awkward, restricted, interrupted and produced with effort
The result of a lesion involving the 3rd frontal convolution of the left hemisphere (Broca’s area)
Verbal apraxia:
Impairment of volitional articulatory control secondary to a cortical, dominant hemisphere lesion
Dysarthria
Impairment of speech production resulting from damage to the central or peripheral nervous system; causes weakness, paralysis or incoordination of the motor-speech system (respiration, articulation, phonation and movements of jaw and tongue)
Fluent aphasia (Wernicke’s aphasia, receptive aphasia)
A central language disorder in which spontaneous speech is preserved and flows smoothly, while auditory comprehension is impaired.
What is fluent aphasia a result of?
a lesion in the posterior first temporal gyrus of the left hemisphere (Wernicke’s area)
Global aphasia
Examine for marked impairments in comprehension and production of language
expressive and reception
Kernig’s Sign:
symptom of meningitis
severe stiffness of hamstrings causes an inability to strightenthe leg when the hip is flexed to 90
Brudzinski’s sign:
symptom of meningitis
severe neck stiffness causes a patient’s hips and knees to flex when neck is flexed
somatognosia
Body scheme disorder
have a patient identify body parts or their relationship to each other
Visual spatial neglect (unilateral neglect)
determine whether patient ignores one side of the body and stimuli coming from that side
Right/Left discrimination disorder
have patient identify right and left sides of his or her own body and your body
Anosognosia
severe denial, neglect or lack of awareness of severity of condition; determine whether patient shows severe impairments in neglect and body scheme
Ideomotor apraxia
patient cannot perform the task on command, but can do the task when left on own
Ideational apraxia
patient cannot perform the task at all, either on command or on own
Decerebrate Rigidity:
increased tone, and sustained posturing of all limb; trunk/neck in rigid extension
Decorticate Rigidity
increased tone and sustained posturing of upper limbs in flexion and lower limbs in extension
Opisthotonos
Prolonged, severe spasm of muscles, causing the head, back and heels to arch backward; arms and hands are held rigidly flexed
Seen in severe meningitis, tetanus, epilepsy and strychnine poisoning
Tics:
spasmodic contractions of specific muscles commonly involving face, head, neck or shoulder muscles
Chorea
relatively quick twitches or “dancing” movements
Athetosis
slow, irregular, twisting, sinuous movements, occurring especially in upper extremities
Tremor
continuous quivering movements: rhythmic, oscillatory movement observed at rest (resting tremor)
Myoclonus:
single, quick jerk
Action tremor:
tremor worsening with movement
dysmetria
inability to move the precise distance required
Abarognosis
inability to recognize weight
Allesthesia
sensation experiences at a site remote from point of stimulation
Allodynia
pain produced by non-noxious stimuli
Analgesia
complete loss of pain sensitivity
Astereognosis
inability to recognize the form and shape of objects by touch
Atopognosia
inability to localize a sensation
Causalgia
painful, burning sensation, usually along the distribution of a nerve
Dysesthesia
touch sensation experienced as pain
Hypalgesia
decreased sensitivity to pain
Hyperalgesia
increased sensitivity to pain
Hyperesthesia
increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli
Hypesthesia
decreases sensitivity to sensory stimuli
Pallanesthesia
loss of absence of sensibility to vibration
Paresthesia
abnormal sensation such as numbness, prickling, or tingling without apparent cause
Thermanalgesia
inability to perceive heat
Thermanesthesia
inability to perceive sensations of cold or heat
Thermhyperesthesia
increased sensitivity to temperature
Thermhypesthesia
decreases temperature sensibility
Thigmanesthesia
loss of light touch sensibility
