10.2

Ch 10 Nervous system L2

Prefixes

Dys painful; difficult

Hemi half 

Micro small

Mono one; single

Quadri four

Soma body 

Suffixes

-asthenia weakness

-esthesia feeling; sensation

-ferent to carry

-glia glue

-lepsy seizure

-orexia appetite

Combining Forms

crani/o skull

dendr/o tree-like; branches

encephal/o brain

gangli/o tumor; cystic tumor

medull/o medulla oblongata

mening/o meninges

Medical Terms

afferent nerves (AF-er-ent NURVZ) Nerves that only conduct messages from the sensory receptors to the central nervous system. 

amnesia (am-NEE-zhuh) Complete or partial loss of memories. 

analgesic (an-uhl-JEE-zik) A drug that relieves pain; includes nonprescription pain relievers, such as aspirin, and prescription pain relievers, such as hydrocodone. 

anesthetic (an-us-THET-ik) A drug that causes a reversible loss of sensation or pain; used to temporarily deaden pain. 

cerebral cortex (suh-REE-bruhl KOR-teks) The outer layer of the cerebrum, which contains many folds of curved and depressed areas. 

concussion (kun-KUH-shun) A traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from a blow to the head or violent shaking of the head and upper body; causes partial or complete loss of brain functions, which can result in memory loss, impaired coordination, balance deficit, and dizziness. 

convulsion (kun-VUL-shun) A sudden, abnormal, involuntary contraction (or series of contractions) of the muscles. 

corpus callosum (KOR-pus kuh-LAHS-um) A bundle of nerve tissue that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. 

craniotomy (kray-nee-AH-toh-mee) An incision into the skull to gain access to the brain. 

efferent nerves (EH-fur-unt NURVZ) Nerves that conduct messages from the central nervous system to the muscles or glands of the body

hemiplegia (hem-ee-PLEE-jee-uh) Total paralysis on one side of the body

paraplegia (pair-uh-PLEE-jee-uh) A loss of voluntary movement (motor function) in the lower half of the body, including both legs; often as a result of spinal cord injury (SCI) or disease. 

paresthesia (pair-es-THEE-zee-uh) The sensation of numbness, prickling, or tingling, usually in the upper or lower extremities; caused by irritation of, or injury to, sensory nerves or nerve roots. 

sensory neurons (SENS-uh-ree NOO-rahns) Neurons that conduct electrical signals from various parts of the body to the brain and spinal cord. 

sulci (SUL-see) Depressions in the brain

syncope (SIN-koh-pee) A temporary loss of consciousness due to inadequate blood flow to the brain; commonly known as fainting. 

temporal lobes (TEMP-uh-ruhl LOHBZ) Lobes of the brain located in the lateral parts of the right and left cerebral hemispheres, which are responsible for your hearing, sense of smell, factual and visual memory, and language processing. 

thalamus (THAL-uh-mus) The largest portion of the diencephalon, which communicates sensory and motor information between the body and the cerebral cortex. 

transient ischemic attack (TIA) (TRAN-zee-unt iss-KEE-mik uh-TAK) A brief stoppage of blood flow (ischemia) to a part of the brain; precursor to, or warning sign of, a stroke. 

unconsciousness (un-KAHN-chus-ness) A lack of awareness of oneself and the inability to respond to environmental stimuli due to injury, shock, or oxygen deprivation.