Term | Definition |
Aphasia | Inability to speak |
Ataxia | Without muscular coordination |
Aura | sensation experienced before seizure |
Bradykinesia | abnormally slow movement |
Contracture | permanent shortening of a muscle; physical deformity |
Diplopia | Double vision; also called ambiopia |
Dyslexia | reading impairment; letters and words are reversed |
Hemiparesis | slight or partial paralysis of one half of the body |
Hemiplegia | paralysis of one half of the body |
Hyperkinesis | excessive muscular movement and physical activity; hyperactivity |
Lethargy | state of being sluggish |
nuchal rigidity | neck is resistant to flexion |
Paraplegia | paralysis of the lower extremities and trunk |
Paresthesia | sensation of numbness or tingling |
Quadriplegia | paralysis of all 4 extremities and trunk |
Sciatica | inflammation of the sciatic nerve |
Stupor | state of lethargy |
Alzheimer's Disease | deterioration of a person's intellectual functioning; 3 stages, aggressive, most common form of dementia |
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) | Lou Gehrig's Disease; motor neuron disease in which nerve cells gradually break down and die; muscle twitching and weakness in limb, or slurred speech; no cure and fatal |
Anencephaly | an absence of the brain and spinal cord at birth; a congenital disorder |
Bells' Palsy | temporary or permanent unilateral weakness or paralysis of the muscles in the face |
Brain Abscess | localized accumulation of pus located anywhere in the brain tissue due to an infectious process |
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome | is a pinching or compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel due to inflammation and swelling of the tendons |
Cerebral Concussion | mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI); brief interruption of brain function; usually loss of consciousness lasting a few seconds |
Cerebral Contusion | a bruise of the brain tissue; occurs in 20-30% of severe head injuries, frequently associated with cerebral edema |
Cerebral Palsy | caused by abnormal development or damage to the parts of the brain that control movement, balance and posture; occurs in about 2.1 per 1,000 births, abnormal muscle tone, reflexes or motor development and coordination |
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) | involves death of specific portion of brain tissue due to lack o f oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery; stroke |
Degenerative Disk | deterioration of the intervertebral disk, usually due to constant motion and wear on the disk |
Encephalitis | inflammation of the brain; viral infections are the most common cause; no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms |
Epilepsy | syndrome of recurring episodes of excessive irregular electrical activity of the brain; seizures |
Grand Mal Seizure | epileptic seizure; sudden loss of consciousness; involuntary muscular contraction; rigid body extension; alternating contracting and relaxing of muscles |
Petit Mal Seizure | small seizure; temporary loss of consciousness lasting a few seconds; also known as absence seizure |
Guillain-Barre Syndrome | acute polyneurtitis of the PNS in which the myelin sheaths on the axons are destroyed |
Headache (Cephalagia) | involves pain anywhere within the cranial cavity |
Migraine Headache | is a recurring, pulsating vascular headache; usually develops on one side of the head |
Cluster Headache | occurs typically 2 or 3 hours after falling asleep; extreme pain around one eye that awakens a person; most painful type |
Tension Headache | generally diffuse, mild to moderate head pain described as feeling like a tight band around head; most common headache |
Hematoma, Epidural | collection of blood located above the dura mater and just below the skull |
Hematoma, Subural | collection of blood below the dura mater and above the arachnoid layer of the meninges |
Herniated Disk | rupture or herniation of the disk center through the disk wall and into the spinal canal |
Huntington's Chorea | inherited neurological disease; rapid, jerky, involuntary movements and increasing dementia |
Hydrocephalus | an abnormal increase of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, resulting in increased head size with open fontanel; congenital disorder |
Meningitis (Acute Bacterial) | inflammation of the meninges; caused by infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord; typical symptom is nuchal rigidity |
Multiple Sclerosis | disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord; |
Narcolepsy | rare syndrome of uncontrolled sudden attacks of sleep |
Parkinson's Disease | degenerative, slowly progressive deterioration of nerves in the brain stem's motor system; tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability |
Shingles (Herpes Zoster) | acute viral infection seen mainly adults who have had chicken pox; painful |
Neurolgia | special type of connective tissue for the NS, support for neurons, do not conduct impulses, protect neuron through phagocytosis |
Neuron | actual nerve cell |
Spastic Cerebral Palsy | most common type of CP; damage to the cortex of the brain; causing tense muscles and irritable muscle tone |
Status Epilepsy | a dangerous condition in which epileptic seizures follow one another without recovery of consciousness between them |
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage | the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain (from an aneurysm or head injury) |
The space between the dura mater and the arachnoid that contains lubricating fluid... | Subdural |
This area lies between the lungs on the midsagittal plane and contains several organs and structures..... | Mediastinum |