Ch. 8 Pathological Terms

Absence seizure

Mild epileptic seizure coming on abruptly with loss of awareness of the environment.

Agnosia

Inability to recognize familiar objects.

Alzheimer’s disease

Type of degenerative brain disease causing thought disorders, gradual loss of memory, and eventual death.

Amnesia

Loss of memory.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Degenerative disease of the motor nerves leading to loss of muscular control and death.

Aneurysm

Abnormal widening of an artery wall that bulges and releases blood.

Aphasia

Loss of speech.

Apraxia

Inability to properly perform familiar tasks.

Astrocytoma

Type of glioma formed from astrocytes.

Ataxia

Condition with uncoordinated voluntary muscular movement, usually resulting from disorders of the cerebellum or spinal cord.

Aura

Group of symptoms that precede a seizure.

Bacterial meningitis

Meningitis caused by bacteria; pyrogenic meningitis.

Bell’s palsy

Paralysis of one side of the face, usually temporary.

Brain contusion

Bruising of the surface of the brain without penetration.

Cerebellitis

Inflammation of the cerebellum.

Cerebral infarction

See cerebrovascular accident.

Cerebral palsy

Congenital disease caused by damage to the cerebrum during gestation or birth resulting in lack of motor coordination.

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA)

Neurological incident caused by disruption in normal blood supply to the brain; stroke.

Coma

Abnormally deep sleep with little or no response to stimuli.

Concussion

Brain injury due to trauma.

Dementia

Deterioration in mental capacity, usually in the elderly.

Demyelination

Destruction of the myelin sheath, particularly in multiple sclerosis.

Dopamine

Substance in the brain or manufactured substance that helps relieve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Duritis

Inflammation of the dura mater.

Dysphasia

Speech difficulty.

Embolic stroke

Sudden stroke caused by an embolus.

Embolus

Clot from somewhere in the body that blocks a small blood vessel in the brain.

Encephalitis

Inflammation of the brain.

Epilepsy

Chronic seizure activity.

Fainting

Syncope.

Gait

Manner of walking.

Gangliitis

Inflammation of a ganglion.

Ganglion

Group of nerve cell bodies forming a mass or cyst in the peripheral nervous system.

Glioblastoma multiforme

Most malignant type of glioma.

Glioma

Tumor that arises from neuroglia.

Grand mal seizure

Severe tonic-clonic seizure.

Hemorrhagic stroke

Stroke caused by blood escaping from a damaged cerebral artery.

Huntington’s chorea

Hereditary disorder with uncontrollable, jerking movements.

Hydrocephalus

Overproduction of fluid in the brain.

Lou Gehrig’s disease

See amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Meningioma

Tumor that arises from the meninges.

Meningitis

Inflammation of the meninges.

Meningocele

In spina bifida cystica, protrusion of the spinal meninges above the surface of the skin.

Meningomyelocele

In spina bifida cystica, protrusion of the meninges and spinal cord above the surface of the skin.

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Degenerative disease with loss of myelin resulting in muscle weakness, extreme fatigue, and some paralysis.

Myasthenia gravis

Disease involving antibodies that block neurotransmitters, causing muscle weakness.

Myelitis

Inflammation of the spinal cord.

Narcolepsy

Nervous system disorder causing uncontrollable sudden lapses into deep sleep.

Neuritis

Inflammation of the nerves.

Occlusion

Blocking of a blood vessel.

Oligodendroglioma

Type of glioma formed from oligodendroglia.

Palsy

Partial or complete paralysis.

Paresthesia

Abnormal sensation such as tingling.

Parkinson’s disease

Degeneration of nerves in the brain caused by lack of sufficient dopamine.

Petit mal seizure

See absence seizure.

Pyrogenic meningitis

Bacterial meningitis that can be fatal.

Radiculitis

Inflammation of spinal nerve roots.

Sciatica

Inflammation of the sciatic nerve.

Shingles

Viral disease affecting the peripheral nerves.

Somnambulism

Sleepwalking.

Somnolence

Extreme sleepiness caused by a neurological disorder.

Spina bifida

Congenital defect of the spinal column.

Stroke

See cerebrovascular accident (CVA).

Syncope

Loss of consciousness due to sudden lack of oxygen in the brain.

Tay-Sachs disease

Hereditary disease causing deterioration of the central nervous system and eventual death.

Thrombotic stroke

Stroke caused by a thrombus.

Thrombus

Blood clot.

Tics

Twitching movements accompanying some neurological disorders.

Tonic-clonic seizure

Severe epileptic seizure with convulsions, twitching, and loss of consciousness.

Tourette syndrome

Neurological disorder causing uncontrollable speech sounds and tics.

Transient ischemic attack (TIA)

Short neurological incident signaling possible future stroke.

Viral meningitis

Meningitis caused by a virus and less severe than pyrogenic meningitis.