Term | Definition |
cerebr/o | largest part of brain |
encephala/o | entire brain |
esthesi/o | sensation |
gangli/o | ganglion (knot) |
gnos/o | knowing |
somn/I and somn/o | sleep |
lex/o | word or phrase |
phas/o | speech |
somat/o | body |
tax/o | order or coordination |
thalam/o | thalamus (a room) |
-asthenia | weakness |
-mania | condition of abnormal impulse toward |
neuron | basic structure of cells |
synapses | neurotransmitters |
frontal lobe | responsible for personality |
temporal lobe | responsible for hearing, taste, and smell |
thalamus | responsible for relaying sensory information to cortex |
cerebellum | responsible for coordination of skeletal muscles |
brainstem | responsible for breathing, heart rate, and body temperature |
meninges | membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord |
spinal nerves | 31 pairs of nerves arising from the spinal cord |
motor nerves | nerves that conduct motor impulses from the brain to muscles and glands |
aphasia | condition without speech/inability to speak |
dysphasia | difficulty speaking |
coma | decreased consciousness |
delirium | mental confusion due to disturbances in cerebral function - fever,shock |
motor deficit | loss or impairment of muscle function |
neuralgia | pain along the course of a nerve |
hemiparesis | partial paralysis of the right or left half of the body |
syncope | fainting |
Alzheimer disease | an irreversible deterioration of the brain |
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) | also known as Lou Gehrig disease |
cerebral palsy (CP) | damage to the cerebrum during development or injury at birth |
cerebrovascular accident (CVA) | stroke; damage to the brain by a blocked blood vessel |
transient ischemic attack (TIA) | often precedes a CVA ; brief episode of loss of blood flow to the brain |
epilepsy | disorder affecting the central nervous system characterized by recurrent seizures |
tonic-clonic | previously termed grand mal seizure |
herpes zoster | also known as shingles; viral disease affecting the peripheral nerves |
hydrocephalus | the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles of the brain |
migraine headache | often accompanied by disordered vision, nausea, and vomiting |
multiple sclerosis (MS) | episodes of neurologic dysfunction caused by the deterioration of the myelin sheath |
Parkinson disease | characterized by tremor, rigidity of muscles, and slow movement (bradykinesia) |
paraplegia | paralysis from the waist down |
quadriplegia | paralysis of all four limbs |
poliomyelitis | inflammation of the grey matter of the spinal cord |
electroencephalogram (EEG) | record of the minute electrical impulses of the brain |
polysomnography (PSG) | recording to diagnose sleep disorders |
lumbar puncture (LP) | used to obtain cerebrospinal fluid for diagnostic analysis |
intracranial MRA | MRI image of the head to visualize the circle of Willis |
extracranial MRA | MRI image of the neck to visualize the carotid artery |
myelogram | x-ray of the spinal cord made after intraspinal injection of contrast medium |
Babinski sign or reflex | pathologic response to stimulation of the plantar surface of the foot; toes curl upward |
transcranial sonogram | used in diagnosis and management of stroke and head trauma |
craniotomy | incision into the skull to approach the brain |
disketcomy (discectomy) | removal of a herniated disk |
laminectomy | excision of one or more laminae of the vertebrae to approach the spinal cord |
spondylosyndesis | spinal fusion |
chemotherpay | uses chemical agents to destroy selected cells or impair their ability to reproduce |
analgesic | agent that relieves pain |
anticoagulant | commonly used to prevent heart attack and ischemic stroke |
anticonvulsant | agent that prevents or lessens convulsions |
hypnotic | agent that induces sleep |
sedative | agent that has a calming effect |
flat affect | significantly dulled emotional tone or outward reaction |
delusion | persistent belief that has no basis in reality |
hallucination | false perception of the senses for which there is no reality; hearing voices in ones head |
neurosis | psychological condition in which anxiety is prominent |
psychosis | mental condition characterized by distortion of reality |
manic depression/bipolar disorder (BD) | affective disorder characterized by mood swings of mania and depression |
seasonal affective disorder (SAD) | mood disorder marked by episodes of depression that most often occur during autumn/winter |
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | condition resulting from an extremely traumatic experience, injury or illness that leaves the sufferer with persistent thoughts and memories of the ordeal |
autism | developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with communication and an inability to communicate with anything beyond oneself |
bulimia nervosa | eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by efforts to limit digestion by inducing vomiting |
schizophrenia | disease that causes disorganized thought, delusions, hallucinations, catatonic behavior |
antidepressant | agent that counteracts depression |