Sensory Perception and Nursing Assessment

Vocabulary and terminology regarding sensory perception, cranial nerves, eye and ear disorders, and nursing assessment tests derived from the lecture transcript.

Sensory Perception

The conscious organization and translation of data or stimuli into meaningful information.

Stimulus

An agent or act that stimulates a nerve receptor.

Receptor

A nerve cell that acts by converting a stimulus into a nerve impulse; most are specific and sensitive to only one type of stimulus.

Impulse conduction

The transmission of an impulse along the nerve pathways to the spinal cord and directly to the brain.

Perception

The awareness and interpretation of stimuli and the ability of an individual to interpret the environment.

Cognition

How an individual learns, stores, receives, and uses information.

Awareness

The ability to perceive environmental stimuli and body reactions and respond appropriately through thought and action.

Cataracts

A breakdown of proteins within the lens resulting in opacification of the lens and an inability to change shape to focus.

Glaucoma

An optic neuropathy with a gradual loss of peripheral vision associated with an increase in intraocular pressure.

Open-angle glaucoma

A type of glaucoma that may cause a gradual loss of peripheral vision or tunnel vision in both eyes.

Angle-closure glaucoma

A type of glaucoma that may cause severe eye pain, photophobia, halos around lights, blurred vision, and sudden onset of decreased visual acuity.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (Dry)

A progressive disease that causes the macula to thin over time, leading to loss of central vision.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (Wet)

A disorder where abnormal blood vessels grow in the back of the eye and damage the macula, causing central vision loss.

Ototoxicity

An adverse reaction to taking aminoglycoside antibiotic drugs or fast intravenous administration of Lasix that can cause hearing damage.

Peripheral Neuropathy

A condition that occurs when trauma or disease processes interfere with the innervation of peripheral nerves, leading to aching, shooting, or burning pain.

Meniere’s Disease

A disorder involving the overaccumulation of endolymph fluid in the inner ear, manifesting as tinnitus, vertigo, imbalance, and hearing loss.

Tinnitus

The perception of sound or noise without an external stimulus from the environment.

Vertigo

The sensation of spinning.

Myopia

A refractive error commonly known as nearsightedness.

Hyperopia

A refractive error commonly known as farsightedness.

Astigmatism

A refractive error causeing altered vision at any distance.

Presbyopia

Impaired vision related to the natural aging process.

Ophthalmia neonatorum

Blindness in newborns caused by infection, which erythromycin ointment is used to prevent.

Photokeratitis

A short-term corneal burn caused by minor exposure to ultraviolet light.

Olfactory Nerve (CN I)

The sensory nerve responsible for the sense of smell.

Optic Nerve (CN II)

The sensory nerve responsible for vision.

Oculomotor Nerve (CN III)

A motor nerve responsible for eyeball movement, raising of the upper eyelid, and constriction of the pupil.

Trochlear Nerve (CN IV)

A motor nerve responsible for eyeball movement, specifically depressing the eye and turning it laterally.

Trigeminal Nerve (CN V)

A nerve involving sensation of the face, scalp, and tongue, and motor function for chewing.

Abducens Nerve (CN VI)

A motor nerve responsible for moving the eye laterally.

Facial Nerve (CN VII)

A nerve responsible for facial muscle movement, tear and saliva production, and taste on the anterior $2/3$ of the tongue.

Acoustic Nerve (CN VIII)

A sensory nerve also known as the vestibulocochlear nerve responsible for the sense of balance and hearing.

Glossopharyngeal Nerve (CN IX)

A nerve responsible for the gag reflex, swallowing, and sensation of taste and pressure from the pharynx.

Vagus Nerve (CN X)

A nerve responsible for swallowing, peristalsis, cardiac rate regulation, and sensation from thoracic organs.

Accessory Nerve (CN XI)

A motor nerve responsible for swallowing and movement of the head and neck.

Hypoglossal Nerve (CN XII)

A motor nerve responsible for movement of the tongue for speech and swallowing.

Snellen Chart

An assessment tool used to test distant visual acuity.

Rosenbaum Chart

An assessment tool used to test near vision acuity.

Romberg Test

Balance assessment where the patient stands with feet together and eyes closed for $15\,seconds$ to check for impairment.

Weber Test

A hearing assessment where a tuning fork is placed on the head to determine if sound is heard equally in both ears.

Rinne Test

A hearing assessment that compares air conduction to bone conduction; normally, sound is heard twice as long by air conduction.

Whisper Test

A hearing test where the nurse whispers numbers from $1\text{ to }2\,feet$ away while the patient occludes one ear.

Strabismus

A potential vision problem in infants involving the misalignment of the eyes.

Amblyopia

A condition in infants also known as lazy eye, where one eye has reduced vision that is not correctable by lenses.

Retinopathy of prematurity

A condition in premature babies resulting from the replacement of retinal tissue with fibrous tissue.

Kinesthetic

The aspect of sensory perception involving the ability to perceive the position of parts of the body.