The Nervous System Part II: Trauma, Vascular Diseases, and Degenerative Disorders

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Carotid artery injuries, facial fractures, cerebrovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders (MS, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's, ALS), epilepsy, hydrocephalus, and sinusitis based on the Chapter 8 lecture transcript.

Carotid Arteries

Major blood vessels that run through the neck and supply the majority of blood to the brain.

Blunt Carotid Artery Injury

A common injury caused by non-penetrating trauma, such as motor vehicle collisions resulting in sudden neck hyperextension, hyperflexion, or rotation.

Intimal Tear

An injury involving a tear to the inner layer of the vessel wall.

Bruit

Turbulence heard with a stethoscope over the carotid area.

Horner Syndrome

A clinical condition classic for carotid dissection that includes ptosis, meiosis, and anhidrosis.

CT Angiography

The modality of choice for diagnosing carotid artery injuries due to its speed and high sensitivity in identifying dissections and occlusions.

Digital Subtraction Angiography

The gold standard for diagnosing carotid artery injuries, though it is invasive and used selectively.

Antithrombotic Therapy

Medical mainstay for treating carotid artery injury aimed at significantly reducing stroke risk.

Nasal Bone Fracture

The most common type of facial fracture, characterized by pain, swelling, deformity, and epistaxis.

Epistaxis

The medical term for a nosebleed.

Crepitus

A crackling sound heard under the skin, often associated with nasal fractures.

Septal Hematoma

An emergency complication of nasal fractures that can lead to cartilage necrosis.

Zygomaticomaxillary Complex (ZMC) Fracture

Also known as a tripod fracture, it involves the zygomatic arch, the maxilla, and the orbital floor or lateral wall.

Trismus

A condition characterized by restricted or painful opening of the mouth because of spasm, stiffness, or jaw muscle dysfunction.

Diplopia

The medical term for double vision.

Orbital Floor Blowout Fracture

A fracture caused by a direct blow to the front of the eye, carrying a risk of extraocular muscle entrapment.

Enophthalmos

The clinical term for sunken eyes.

Le Fort I Fracture

A horizontal fracture above the upper teeth, also referred to as a floating palate.

Le Fort II Fracture

A pyramidal fracture involving the nasal bone, the maxilla, and the orbit.

Le Fort III Fracture

The most severe facial injury involving complete separation of the face from the skull; carries high risk of CSF leak and airway compromise.

Mandibular Fracture

The second most common facial fracture, often resulting in jaw pain, malocclusion, and trismus.

Malocclusion

A misalignment of the teeth where the upper and lower dental arches do not fit together correctly when biting.

Rhinorrhea

Leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the nose.

Otorrhea

Leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the ear.

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)

The sudden development of a focal neurologic deficit, commonly known as a stroke.

Ischemic Stroke

The most common type of stroke, caused by reduced or blocked blood flow to the brain due to thrombosis or embolism.

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

A temporary interruption of cerebral blood flow with symptoms that typically resolve within 24 hours and cause no permanent brain damage.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

A stroke caused by the rupture of a blood vessel leading to bleeding in or around the brain.

Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH)

Bleeding that occurs within the brain tissue, most commonly caused by chronic hypertension.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Bleeding into the subarachnoid space, classic for a sudden thunderclap headache and often due to a ruptured saccular aneurysm.

FAST

An acronym for identifying stroke: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call emergency services.

Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI)

A specific MRI sequence that is highly sensitive for detecting early brain ischemia.

Mechanical Thrombectomy

A minimally invasive catheter-based emergency procedure used to physically remove a blood clot from a cerebral artery.

Reverse Anticoagulation

Urgent neutralization of blood-thinning medications to stop or reduce active bleeding, critical in hemorrhagic strokes.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

A chronic autoimmune disease of the CNS characterized by inflammation, demyelination, and axonal damage.

Myelin Sheath

A protective covering around the axon that provides rapid conduction of nerve impulses and protection.

Ataxia

A neurologic sign characterized by impaired coordination of voluntary movements.

Dissemination in Space

A diagnostic phrase for MS describing damage occurring in different locations of the central nervous system.

Dissemination in Time

A diagnostic phrase for MS describing damage occurring at different points in time.

Epilepsy

A chronic neurologic disorder characterized by a tendency to have recurrent unprovoked seizures.

Seizure

A sudden burst of abnormal, excessive, and synchronous electrical activity in the brain.

Focal Aware Seizure

A seizure beginning in one area of the brain where consciousness is preserved.

Tonic-Clonic Seizure

Formerly known as Grand Mal, it involves loss of consciousness and full body convulsions with stiffening (tonic phase) and jerking (clonic phase).

Absence Seizure

Formerly known as Petit Mal, characterized by brief, sudden lapses in consciousness without convulsions, most common in children.

Myoclonic Seizure

A generalized seizure characterized by sudden, quick, shock-like involuntary muscle jerks.

Atonic Seizure

A seizure characterized by a sudden loss of muscle tone, causing the person to go limp, collapse, or experience a head drop.

Aura

A warning sensation that may occur before a seizure.

Postictal State

A period following a seizure characterized by confusion, fatigue, and disorientation.

Alzheimer's Disease

The most common cause of dementia, involving the accumulation of amyloid B plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

Amyloid B Plaques

Clumps of amyloid protein that accumulate between neurons, disrupting communication and triggering inflammation.

Neurofibrillary Tangles

Twisted strands of tau protein that form inside neurons, disrupting transport and leading to cell death.

Huntington Disease

A progressive inherited neurodegenerative dementia caused by a mutation in the HTT gene, affecting the caudate nucleus and putamen.

Chorea

Involuntary, dance-like movements associated with Huntington disease.

Dystonia

A neurological movement disorder where muscles contract involuntarily, causing twisting movements or abnormal postures.

Parkinson's Disease

A progressive disorder affecting dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, also known as shaking palsy.

Bradykinesia

A clinical term for slowness of movement.

Pill Rolling Tremor

A resting tremor typical of Parkinson's disease where the fingers move as if rolling a small object.

Levodopa (L-DOPA)

The most effective medication for Parkinson's, which is converted into dopamine inside the brain.

DAT Scan

The gold standard SPECT scan for measuring dopamine transporter activity to diagnose Parkinson's.

Deep Brain Stimulation

A surgical treatment using implanted electrodes to deliver electrical impulses to regulate abnormal brain activity.

Cerebellar Atrophy

The loss or shrinkage of neurons in the cerebellum, leading to gait instability and impaired coordination.

Nystagmus

Rapid, involuntary eye movements.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Also known as Lou Gehrig disease, a progressive motor neuron disease causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and respiratory failure.

Fasciculations

Involuntary muscle twitching.

Hydrocephalus

An abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain's ventricles, causing dilatation and pressure on brain tissue.

Aqueductal Stenosis

A narrowing of the aqueduct that is the most common congenital cause of hydrocephalus.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)

A type of hydrocephalus in older adults characterized by the triad of gait disturbance, urinary incontinence, and cognitive decline.

Sunsetting

A downward deviating eye appearance seen in infants with hydrocephalus.

Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt

The most common surgical treatment for hydrocephalus, which diverts CSF to the abdomen for absorption.

Sinusitis

Also known as rhinosinusitis, it is the inflammation of the lining of the air-filled spaces in the face.

Postnasal Drip

A common symptom of sinusitis involving mucus dripping down the back of the throat.