Chapter 13 Terms

cepahl/o

head

cerebell/o

little brain

cerebr/o

cerebrum

cran/i

skull

crani/o

skull

cyt/o

cell

dendr/o

tree

disk/o

disk

dur/o

dura, hard

electr/o

electricity

encephal/o

brain

esthesi/o

feeling

fibr/o

fiber

gli/o

glue

hypn/o

sleep

lamin/o

thin plate

later/o

side

lob/o

lobe

mening/i

membrane, meninges

mening/o

membrane, meninges

ment/o

mind

my/o

muscle

myel/o

spinal cord

narc/o

numbness, sleep, stupor

neur/o

nerve

pallid/o

globus pallidus

papill/o

papilla

poli/o

gray

scler/o

hardening

somn/o

sleep

spin/o

thorn, spine

spondyl/o

vertebra

vag/o

vagus, wandering

ventricul/o

ventricle

ambul

to walk

concuss

shaken violently

ganglion

knot

log

study

mnes

memory

sympath

sympathy

acetylcholine (ACh) (ăs˝ ĕ-tĭl-kō´ lēn)

Cholinergic neurotransmitter; plays an important role in the transmission of nerve impulses at synapses and myoneural junctions.

akathisia (ăk˝ ă-thĭ´ zhē-ă)

Inability to remain still; motor restlessness and anxiety.

akinesia (ă˝ kĭ-nē´ zhē-ă)

Loss or lack of voluntary motion.

Alzheimer disease (AD) (ahlts´ hī-mer)

A progressive degeneration of brain tissue that usually begins after age 60. It is the most common cause of dementia among older adults.

amnesia (ăm-nē´ zhă)

Condition in which there is a loss or lack of memory.

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (ā-mī˝ ō-trō´ fĭk lăt´ ĕr-ăl sklĕ-rō´ sĭs)

Muscular weakness, atrophy, with spasticity caused by degeneration of motor neurons of the spinal cord; also called Lou Gehrig disease.

analgesia (ăn˝ ăl-jē´ zē-ă)

Condition in which there is a lack of the sensation of pain.

anesthesia (ăn˝ ĕs-thē´ zhă)

Literally means loss or lack of the sense of feeling; a pharmacologically induced reversible state of amnesia, analgesia, loss of responsiveness, loss of skeletal muscle reflexes, and decreased stress response.

anesthesiologist (ăn˝ ĕs-thē˝ zē-ŏl´ ō-jĭst)

Physician who specializes in the science of anesthesia.

aphagia (ă-fā´ jē-ă)

Loss or lack of the ability to eat or swallow.

aphasia (ă-fā´ zē-ă)

Literally means a lack of the ability to speak.

apraxia (ā-prăk´ sē-ă)

Loss or lack of the ability to use objects properly and to recognize common ones; inability to perform motor tasks or activities of daily living (ADL), such as dressing and bathing.

asthenia (ăs-thē´ nē-ă)

Loss or lack of strength.

astrocytoma (ăs˝ trō-sī-tō´ mă)

A primary tumor of the brain composed of astrocytes (star-shaped neuroglial cells) characterized by slow growth, cyst formation, metastasis, and malignant glioblastoma within the tumor mass.

ataxia (ă-tăk´ sē-ă)

Literally means loss or lack of order; neurological sign and symptom consisting of lack of coordination of muscle movements.

bradykinesia (brăd˝ ĭ-kĭ-nē´ sē-ă)

Abnormal slowness of motion.

cephalalgia (sĕf˝ ă-lăl´ jē-ă)

Head pain; headache.

cerebellar (sĕr˝ ĕ-bĕl´ ăr)

Pertaining to the cerebellum.

cerebral palsy (CP) (sĕr´ ă-brĭl pawl´ zē)

Disorder of movement and posture caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during gestation, during childbirth, or after birth up to about age 3.

cerebrospinal (sĕr˝ ĕ-brō-spī´ năl)

Pertaining to the cerebrum and the spinal cord.

chorea (kō-rē´ ă)

Abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias.

coma (kō´ mă)

Unconscious state or stupor from which the patient cannot be aroused.

concussion (brain) (kŏn-kŭsh´ ŭn)

Head injury with a transient loss of brain function; may also be called mild brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), mild head injury (MHI), and minor head trauma (MHT).

craniectomy (krā˝ nē-ĕk´ tō-mē)

Surgical excision of a portion of the skull (cranium), which encases the brain.

craniotomy (krā˝ nē-ŏt´ ō-mē)

Literally means surgical incision into the skull.

deep brain stimulation (DBS)

A surgical procedure used to treat various disabling neurological symptoms—most commonly the symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement, and walking problems.

dementia (di-men´ chă)

Group of symptoms marked by memory loss and loss of other cognitive functions such as perception, thinking, reasoning, and remembering.

diskectomy (dĭs-kĕk´ tō-mē)

Surgical excision of an intervertebral disk.

dyslexia (dĭs-lĕk´ sē-ă)

Difficulty reading and writing words even though vision and intelligence are unimpaired.

dysphasia (dĭs-fā´ zē-ă)

Impairment of speech that may be caused by a brain lesion.

electromyography (ē-lĕk˝ trō-mī-ŏg´ ră-fē)

Process of recording the contraction of a skeletal muscle as a result of electrical stimulation; used in diagnosing disorders of nerves supplying muscles.

encephalitis (ĕn-sĕf˝ ă-lī´ tĭs)

Inflammation of the brain.

encephalopathy (ĕn-sĕf˝ ă-lŏp´ ă-thē)

Any pathological dysfunction of the brain.

endorphins (ĕn-dor´ fĭns)

Chemical substances produced in the brain that act as natural analgesics (opiates) and provide feelings of pleasure.

epidural (ĕp˝ ĭ-dū´ răl)

Literally means pertaining to situated on the dura mater; often used to refer to a form of regional anesthesia involving injection of medication via a catheter into the epidural space.

epiduroscopy (ep˝ ĭ-dū-rŏs´ kō-pē)

Minimally invasive form of surgery that introduces medication via an endoscope into the epidural space.

epilepsy (ĕp´ ĭ-lĕp˝ sē)

A neurological disorder involving repeated seizures of any type.

ganglionectomy (gang˝ lē-ō-nĕk´ tō-mē)

Surgical excision of a ganglion (a mass of nerve tissue outside the brain and spinal cord).

glioma (glī-ō´ mă)

Tumor composed of neuroglial tissue.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (gē-yăn´ bă-rā´)

Pathological condition in which the myelin sheaths covering peripheral nerves are destroyed, resulting in decreased nerve impulses, loss of reflex response, and sudden muscle weakness.

hemiparesis (hĕm˝ ē-păr´ ĕ-sĭs)

Weakness on one side of the body that can be caused by a stroke, cerebral palsy, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, and other brain and nervous system diseases.

hemiplegia (hĕm˝ ē-plē´ jē-ă)

Paralysis of one-half of the body when it is divided along the median sagittal plane.

herniated disk syndrome (HDS) (hĕr´ nē-āt˝ ĕd)

Condition in which part or all of the soft, gelatinous central portion of an intervertebral disk (the nucleus pulposus) is forced through a weakened part of the disk.

hydrocephalus (hī˝ drō-sĕf´ ă-lŭs)

Condition in which there is an increased amount of cerebrospinal fluid within the ventricles of the brain, causing the head to be enlarged.

hyperesthesia (hī˝ pĕr-ĕs-thē´ zhē-ă)

Increased feelings of sensory stimuli, such as pain, touch, or sound.

hyperkinesis (hī˝ pĕr-kĭn-ē´ sĭs)

Increased muscular movement and motion; inability to be still; also known as hyperactivity.

hypnosis (hĭp-nō´ sĭs)

Artificially induced trancelike state resembling somnambulism (sleepwalking).

intracranial (ĭn˝ tră-krā´ nē-ăl)

Pertaining to within the skull.

laminectomy (lăm˝ ĭ-nĕk´ tō-mē)

Surgical excision of a vertebral posterior arch.

lobotomy (lō-bŏt´ ō-mē)

Surgical incision into the prefrontal or frontal lobe of the brain.

meningioma (mĕn-ĭn˝ jē-ō´ mă)

Tumor of the meninges that originates in the arachnoidal tissue.

meningitis (mĕn˝ ĭn-jī´ tĭs)

Inflammation of the meninges of the spinal cord or brain.

meningocele (mĕn-ĭn´ gō-sēl)

Congenital hernia (saclike protrusion) in which the meninges protrude through a defect in the skull or spinal column.

meningomyelocele (mĕ-nĭng˝ gō-mī´ ĕ-lō-sēl)

Congenital herniation of the spinal cord and meninges through a defect in the vertebral column.

microcephaly (mī˝ krō-sĕf´ ă-lē)

Abnormally small head; congenital anomaly characterized by an abnormal smallness of the head in relation to the rest of the body.

multiple sclerosis (MS) (mŭl´ tĭ-pl sklĕ-rō´ sĭs)

Chronic disease of the central nervous system marked by damage to the myelin sheath.

myelitis (mī˝ ĕ-lī´ tĭs)

Inflammation of the spinal cord.

narcolepsy (năr´ kō-lĕp˝ sē)

Chronic condition with recurrent attacks of uncontrollable drowsiness and sleep.

neuralgia (noo-ral´ jă)

Pain in a nerve or nerves.

neurasthenia (noor˝ ăs-thē´ nē-ă)

Pathological condition characterized by weakness, exhaustion, and prostration that often accompanies severe depression.