Term | Definition |
anterograde (posttraumatic) amnesia | Inability to remember events after an injury. |
basilar skull fractures | Usually occur following diffuse impact to the head (such as falls, motor vehicle crashes); generally result from extension of a linear fracture to the base of the skull and can be difficult to diagnose with a radiograph (x-ray). |
Battle's sign | Bruising behind an ear over the mastoid process that may indicate a skull fracture. |
cerebral edema | Swelling of the brain. |
closed head injury | Injury in which the brain has been injured but the skin has not been broken and there is no obvious bleeding. |
concussion | A temporary loss or alteration of part or all of the brain's abilities to function without actual physical damage to the brain. |
connecting nerves | Nerves in the spinal cord that connect the motor and sensory nerves. |
coup-contrecoup injury | Dual impacting of the brain into the skull; coup injury occurs at the point of impact; contrecoup injury occurs on the opposite side of impact, as the brain rebounds. |
distraction | The action of pulling the spine along its length. |
epidural hematoma | An accumulation of blood between the skull and the dura mater. |
eyes-forward position | A head position in which the patient's eyes are looking straight ahead and the head and torso are in line. |
four-person log roll | The recommended procedure for moving a patient with a suspected spinal injury from the ground to a long backboard. |
intervertebral disk | The cushion that lies between two vertebrae. |
intracerebral hematoma | Bleeding within the brain tissue (parenchyma) itself; also referred to as an intraparenchymal hematoma. |
intracranial pressure (ICP) | The pressure within the cranial vault. |
involuntary activities | Actions of the body that are not under a person's conscious control. |
linear skull fractures | Account for 80% of skull fractures; also referred to as nondisplaced skull fractures; commonly occur in the temporal-parietal region of the skull; not associated with deformities to the skull. |
meninges | Three distinct layers of tissue that surround and protect the brain and the spinal cord within the skull and the spinal canal. |
open head injury | Injury to the head often caused by a penetrating object in which there may be bleeding and exposed brain tissue. |
primary (direct) injury | An injury to the brain and its associated structures that is a direct result of impact to the head. |
raccoon eyes | Bruising under the eyes that may indicate a skull fracture. |
retrograde amnesia | The inability to remember events leading up to a head injury. |
secondary (indirect) injury | The "after effects" of the primary injury; includes abnormal processes such as cerebral edema, increased intracranial pressure, cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, and infection; onset is often delayed following the primary brain injury. |
subarachnoid hemorrhage | Bleeding into the subarachnoid space, where the cerebrospinal fluid circulates. |
subdural hematoma | An accumulation of blood beneath the dura mater but outside the brain. |
subluxation | A partial or incomplete dislocation. |
traumatic brain injury (TBI) | A traumatic insult to the brain capable of producing physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and vocational changes. |
voluntary activities | Actions that we consciously perform, in which sensory input or conscious thought determines a specific muscular activity. |