Exam 4 Review: Chapter 12: CNS Pathologies
concussion - A traumatic injury to an organ, especially the brain, produced by a violent blow and followed by a temporary or prolonged loss of function; some symptoms of a concussion are: persistent low-grade headaches; having more trouble than usual remembering things, concentrating, or making decisions; feeling tired all the time; feeling sad, anxious, or listless; or becoming easily irritated for little or no reason.
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contusion - A bruise; an injury limited to some disorganization of the subcutaneous tissue and effusion of blood beneath the skin, but without an apparent open wound.
laceration - A jagged wound caused by tearing or cutting tissue.
aphasia - A partial or total loss of the ability to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language, resulting from damage to the brain caused by injury or disease, although the vocal organs remain intact, and the intellect is preserved.
ischemia - A decrease in the blood supply, and, therefore, oxygen and nutrients, to a body organ, tissue, or part caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels.
stroke = cerebrovascular accident = CVA - A sudden loss of brain function resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen starvation in the brain, characterized by loss of muscular control, diminution or loss of sensation or consciousness, dizziness, slurred speech, or other symptoms that vary with the extent and severity of the damage to the brain. [Click here for a slide show on acute strokes.]
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transient ischemic attack - A temporary blockage of the blood supply to the brain caused by a blood clot and usually lasting ten minutes or less, during which dizziness, blurring of vision, numbness on one side of the body, and other symptoms of a stroke may occur; nickname ministroke.
Alzheimer's disease - An organic brain disease marked by the loss of cognitive ability, generally over a period of 10 to 15 years, and associated with the development of abnormal tissues, tangled nerve fiber masses, cortical atrophy and protein deposits in the cerebral cortex; a progressive form of presenile dementia that is similar to senile dementia except that it usually starts in the 40s or 50s; first symptoms are impaired memory which is followed by impaired thought and speech and finally complete helplessness. [Try this little test of mental acuity.]
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Parkinson's disease - A progressive nervous disease, sometimes with a hereditary component, occurring most often after the age of 50, associated with the destruction of brain cells that produce dopamine and characterized by muscular tremor, slowing of movement, partial facial paralysis, peculiarity of gait and posture, and weakness; nickname shaking palsy.
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Cerebral palsy - A disorder usually caused by motor area brain damage
occurring at or before birth and marked by muscular impairment, a loss or
deficiency of motor control with involuntary spasms; often accompanied by poor
coordination, it sometimes involves speech and learning difficulties; it may
congenital, e.g., fetal hypoxia, placental dysfunction, or acquired after birth,
e.g., from head injury, jaundice, Rh incompatibility, and rubella (German
measles); nickname spastic paralysis.
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Dyslexia - A learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.
Reye's syndrome - An acute encephalopathy characterized by fever, vomiting, fatty infiltration of the liver, disorientation, and coma, occurring mainly in children and usually following a viral infection, such as chicken pox or influenza; while the cause and cure remain unknown, research has established a link between Reye's Syndrome and the use of aspirin and other salicylate-containing medications.
Raynaud's syndrome = Raynaud's disease - A circulatory disorder involving improper autonomic regulation of blood flow, which affects the hands and feet, caused by vessel spasms, when exposed to cold, from an emotional upset, smoking cigarettes or working with vibrating machinery, which lead to insufficient blood supply to these parts and resulting in cyanosis, numbness, pain, and, in extreme cases, gangrene.
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encephalitis - Any inflammation of the brain, usually caused by a virus; symptoms include headache and neck pain and drowsiness and nausea and fever.
poliomyelitis = polio - A highly infectious viral disease that chiefly affects children, whose early symptoms include fever, sore throat, headaches and vomiting, often with stiffness of the neck and back; and, in its severe acute form, causes inflammation of somatic motor neurons of the ventral horn of the spinal cord and of brainstem, leading to paralysis, muscular atrophy, and often deformity; through vaccination, the disease is preventable; nickname infantile paralysis.
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spinal tap = spinal puncture = lumbar puncture - The removal of cerebrospinal fluid from the subarachnoid space of the lumbar region of the spinal cord for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, e.g., to inject anesthetic drugs.
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List
10. Eight brain disorders.
1.
stroke = cerebrovascular
accident (and transient ischemic attack)
2. Alzheimer's disease
3. Parkinson's disease
4. Cerebral palsy
5. Dyslexia
6. Reye's syndrome
7. encephalitis
8. meningitis
