Neurological Conditions and Head/Spinal Cord Injuries Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key neurological conditions, traumatic brain injuries, head bleeds, continuous IV medications, and spinal cord injury complications from the lecture notes.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

A head injury commonly caused by falls, with the highest risk group being males aged 15 to 19 years old.

Battle Sign

Bruising and ecchymosis behind the ear and around the eyes or face, serving as an indicator of skull fracture or increased intracranial pressure.

Cushing's Triad

A set of three classic signs indicating increased intracranial pressure: bradycardia, widening pulse pressure, and irregular respirations.

Widening Pulse Pressure

An increased numerical difference between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, such as a blood pressure of $140/20\,mmHg$ yielding a pulse pressure of $120\,mmHg$.

Halo Sign

A diagnostic finding for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, characterized by a clear ring of fluid surrounding a blood stain because CSF contains a higher concentration of glucose.

Coup Contrecoup Injury

A closed traumatic brain injury caused by rapid acceleration and deceleration where the brain strikes the front of the inner skull and then impacts the back.

Penetrating Traumatic Brain Injury

A head injury resulting from an object opening the scalp and skull to enter the brain tissue, such as a knife, gunshot wound, or baseball bat.

Concussion

A temporary loss of consciousness following head trauma that occurs without apparent structural damage to the brain.

Brain Contusion

A bruise on the brain tissue resulting from trauma that may involve localized hemorrhaging.

Diffuse Axonal Injury

Widespread damage to the axons throughout the brain resulting from head trauma, which causes an immediate transition into a coma.

Epidural Hematoma

A blood collection located between the skull and the dura, classically presenting with a brief loss of consciousness, a temporary return to a lucid state, and subsequent loss of consciousness as intracranial pressure increases.

Subdural Hematoma

A collection of blood located between the dura and the brain tissue; acute subdurals develop over 24 to 48 hours, while subacute subdurals develop over 48 hours to 2 weeks.

Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Bleeding occurring directly inside the actual substance or tissue of the brain.

Angiogram (Angiography)

A reperfusion study utilizing an IV contrast tracer (such as iodine) to visualize blood flow through brain and neck arteries to identify tears, clots, or perfusion issues.

PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography)

An advanced imaging modality using thermal color mapping based on glucose uptake to visualize live brain function, perfusion, and cellular activity.

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

An objective neurological assessment tool that evaluates best motor response, eye opening, and verbal response, with a maximum score of $15$.

Mannitol

A hypertonic solution (approximately $3\%$ concentration) given IV to pull fluid off swollen brain tissue via osmotic pressure to reduce intracranial pressure.

Cardene (nicardipine)

A calcium channel blocker administered as a continuous IV drip and titrated to lower elevated blood pressure in brain injury patients.

Esmolol

An IV beta-blocker drip used to manage severe hypertension in patients with acute head bleeds.

Cleviprex (clevidipine)

An IV calcium channel blocker drip utilized for continuous blood pressure control in hypertensive neurological patients.

Tridil

A nitroglycerin-based IV vasodilator drip used to manage hypertension in head bleed patients.

Spinal Shock

A sudden depression of reflex activity below the level of a spinal cord injury, characterized by flaccidity and loss of sensation and reflexes.

Neurogenic Shock

A shock state caused by the loss of autonomic nervous system function, characterized by decreased blood pressure, decreased heart rate, decreased cardiac output, and venous pooling.

Autonomic Dysreflexia

An acute condition occurring in spinal cord lesions above $T6$, triggered by a distended bladder, bowel distension (constipation), or skin stimulation, causing extreme hypertension and tachycardia.

Hydralazine

A ganglionic blocking agent administered IV push that lowers blood pressure and treats the underlying ganglionic cell cause of autonomic dysreflexia.

Hemiparesis

Weakness affecting one side of the body (left or right), commonly observed in stroke patients.