Med Term Chapter 15

Front 1

affront

Back 1

carry or move inward or toward a central structure

Front 2

blood-brain barrier

Back 2

protective mechanism that blocks specific substances found in the bloodstream from entering delicate brain tissue

Front 3

efferent

Back 3

carry or move away from a central structure

Front 4

limbic system

Back 4

complex neural system located beneath the cerebrum that controls basic emotions and drives and plays an important role in memory

Front 5

neurilemma

Back 5

additional external myelin sheath that is formed by Schwann cells and found only on axons in the peripheral nervous system

Front 6

ventricle

Back 6

organ chamber or cavity that receives or holds fluid

Front 7

cerebr/o

Back 7

cerebrum

Front 8

crani/o

Back 8

cranium (skull)

Front 9

encephal/o

Back 9

brain

Front 10

gangli/o

Back 10

ganglion (knot or knotlike mass)

Front 11

gli/o

Back 11

glue; neurological tissue

Front 12

kinesi/o

Back 12

movement

Front 13

lept/o

Back 13

thin, slender

Front 14

lex/o

Back 14

word, phrase

Front 15

mening/o

Back 15

meninges (membranes covering the brain and spinal cord)

Front 16

meningi/o

Back 16

meninges (membranes covering the brain and spinal cord)

Front 17

myel/o

Back 17

bone marrow; spinal cord

Front 18

narc/o

Back 18

stupor; numbness; sleep

Front 19

neur/o

Back 19

nerve

Front 20

radicul/o

Back 20

nerve root

Front 21

sthen/o

Back 21

strength

Front 22

thalam/o

Back 22

thalamus

Front 23

thec/o

Back 23

sheath (usually refers to meninges)

Front 24

ton/o

Back 24

tension

Front 25

ventricul/o

Back 25

ventricle (of the heart or brain)

Front 26

-algesia

Back 26

pain

Front 27

-algia

Back 27

pain

Front 28

-asthenia

Back 28

weakness, debility

Front 29

-esthesia

Back 29

feeling

Front 30

-kinesia

Back 30

movement

Front 31

-lepsy

Back 31

seizure

Front 32

-paresis

Back 32

partial paralysis

Front 33

-phasia

Back 33

speech

Front 34

-plegia

Back 34

paralysis

Front 35

-taxia

Back 35

order, coordination

Front 36

pachy-

Back 36

thick

Front 37

para-

Back 37

near, beside; beyond

Front 38

syn-

Back 38

union, together, joined

Front 39

uni-

Back 39

one

Front 40

affective disorder

Back 40

psychological disorder in which the major characteristic is an abnormal mood, usually mania or depression

Front 41

anorexia nervosa

Back 41

eating disorder characterized by a refusal to maintain adequate weight for age and height and an all-consuming desire to remain thin

Front 42

anxiety

Back 42

psychological "worry" disorder characterized by excessive pondering or thinking "what if..."

Front 43

attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Back 43

disorder affecting children and adults characterized by impulsiveness, overactivity, and the inability to remain focused on a task

Front 44

autism

Back 44

developmental disorder characterized by extreme withdrawal and an abnormal absorption in fantasy, usually accompanied by an inability to communicate even on a basic level

Front 45

bipolar disorder

Back 45

mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, emotion, energy, and the ability to function; also manic-depressive illness

Front 46

bulimia nervosa

Back 46

eating disorder characterized by binging (overeating) and purging (vomiting or the use of laxatives)

Front 47

depression

Back 47

mood disorder associated with sadness, despair, discouragement, and commonly feelings of low self-esteem, guilt, and withdrawal

Front 48

mania

Back 48

mood disorder characterized by mental and physical hyperactivity, disorganized behavior, and excessively elevated mood

Front 49

neurosis

Back 49

nonpsychotic mental illness that triggers feelings of distress and anxiety and impairs normal behavior

Front 50

panic attack

Back 50

sudden, intense feeling of fear that comes without warning and is not attributable to any immediate danger

Front 51

psychosis

Back 51

major emotional disorder in which contact with reality is lost to the point that the individual is incapable of meeting the challenges of daily life

Front 52

agnosia

Back 52

inability to comprehend auditory, visual, spatial, olfactory, or other sensations, even though the sensory sphere is intact

Front 53

asthenia

Back 53

weakness, debility, or loss of strength

Front 54

ataxia

Back 54

lack of muscle coordination in the execution of voluntary movement

Front 55

closed head trauma

Back 55

injury to the head in which the dura mater remains intact and brain tissue is not exposed

Front 56

coma

Back 56

abnormally deep unconsciousness with an absence of voluntary response to stimuli

Front 57

concussion

Back 57

injury to the brain, occasionally with transient loss of consciousness, as a result of trauma to the head

Front 58

convulsion

Back 58

any sudden and violent contraction of one or more voluntary muscles

Front 59

dementia

Back 59

broad term that refers to cognitive deficit, including memory impairment

Front 60

dyslexia

Back 60

inability to learn and process written language, despite adequate intelligence, sensory ability, and exposure

Front 61

Guillain-Barré syndrome

Back 61

autoimmune condition that causes acute inflammation of the peripheral nerves in which myelin sheaths are destroyed, resulting in decreased nerve impulses, loss of reflex response, and sudden muscle weakness

Front 62

herpes zoster

Back 62

acute inflammation eruption of highly painful vesicles on the trunk of the body or, occasionally, the face; also called shingles

Front 63

Huntington chorea

Back 63

inherited disease of the CNS characterized by quick, involuntary movements, speech disturbances, and mental deterioration

Front 64

acquired hydrocephalus

Back 64

hydrocephalus that develops at birth or any time afterward as
a result of injury or disease

Front 65

congenital hydrocephalus

Back 65

hydrocephalus caused by factors that occur during fetal development or as a result of genetic abnormalities

Front 66

lethargy

Back 66

abnormal inactivity or lack of response to normal stimuli

Front 67

anencephaly

Back 67

congenital deformity in which some or all of fetal brain is missing

Front 68

spina bifida

Back 68

congenital deformity of the neural tube (embryonic structure that becomes the fetal brain and spinal cord), which fails to close during fetal development; also called neural tube defect

Front 69

meningocele

Back 69

form of spina bifida in which the spinal cord develops properly but the meninges protrude through the spine

Front 70

myelomeningocele

Back 70

most severe form of spina bifida in which the spinal cord and meninges protrude through the spine

Front 71

occulta

Back 71

form of spina bifida in which one or more vertebrae are malformed and the spinal cord is covered with a layer of skin

Front 72

palsy

Back 72

paralysis, usually partial, and commonly characterized by weakness and shaking or uncontrolled tremor

Front 73

Bell plasy

Back 73

facial paralysis caused by a functional disorder of the seventh cranial nerve

Front 74

cerebral palsy

Back 74

type of paralysis that affects movement and body position and, sometimes, speech and learning ability

Front 75

paralysis

Back 75

loss of voluntary motion in one or more muscle groups with or without loss of sensation

Front 76

hemiplegia

Back 76

paralysis of one side of the body, typically as the result of a stroke; also called unilateral paralysis

Front 77

paraplegia

Back 77

paralysis of both lower limbs, typically as a result of trauma or disease of the lower spinal cord

Front 78

quadriplegia

Back 78

paralysis of both arms and legs, commonly resulting in bowel, bladder, and sexual dysfunction

Front 79

paresthesia

Back 79

sensation of numbness, prickling, tingling, or heightened sensitivity

Front 80

poliomyelitis

Back 80

inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord caused by a virus, commonly resulting in spinal and muscle deformity and paralysis

Front 81

Reye syndrome

Back 81

acute encephalopathy and fatty infiltration of the brain, liver, and possibly, the pancreas, heart, kidney, spleen, and lymph nodes

Front 82

syncope

Back 82

brief loss of consciousness and posture caused by a temporary decrease of blood flow to the brain; also called fainting

Front 83

electroencephalography (EEG)

Back 83

recording of electrical activity in the brain, whose cells emit distinct patterns of rhythmic electrical impulses

Front 84

electromyography (EMG)

Back 84

recording of electrical signals (action potentials) that occur in a muscle when it is at rest and during contraction to assess muscular disease or nerve damage

Front 85

lumbar puncture (LP)

Back 85

needle puncture of the spinal cavity to extract spinal fluid for diagnostic purposes, introduce anesthetic agents into the spinal canal, or remove fluid to allow other fluids (such as radiopaque substances) to be injected; also called spinal puncture and spinal tap

Front 86

nerve conduction velocity (NCV)

Back 86

test that measures the speed at which impulses travel through a nerve

Front 87

cryosurgery

Back 87

technique that exposes abnormal tissue to extreme cold to destroy it

Front 88

stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)

Back 88

precisely focused (stereotactic) radiation beams are used to treat tumors and other abnormal growths in the brain, spinal column and other body sites, and delivers high doses of radiation to the tumor with minimal exposure to surrounding healthy tissue

Front 89

thalamotomy

Back 89

partial destruction of the thalamus to treat intractable pain; involuntary movements, including tremors in Parkinson disease; or emotional disturbances

Front 90

tractotomy

Back 90

transection of a nerve tract in the brain stem or spinal cord

Front 91

trephination

Back 91

technique that cuts a circular opening into the skull to reveal brain tissue and decrease intracranial pressure

Front 92

ventriculoperitoneal shunting

Back 92

relieves intracranial pressure due to hydrocephalus by diverting (shunting) excess cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricles into the peritoneal or thoracic cavity

Front 93

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis

Back 93

laboratory test to examine a sample of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord; used to diagnose disorders of the central nervous system, including viral and bacterial infections, tumors, and hemorrhage

Front 94

angiography

Back 94

radiographic image (angiogram) of the inside of a blood vessel after injection of a contrast medium; also called arteriography

Front 95

computed tomography angiography (CTA)

Back 95

angiography in combination with a CT scan to produce high-resolution, three-dimensional vascular images of the blood vessels

Front 96

discography

Back 96

CT scan of the lumbar region after injection of a contrast medium to detect problems with the spine and spinal nerve roots

Front 97

echoencephalography

Back 97

untrasound technique used to study intracranial structures of the brain and diagnose conditions that cause a shift in the midline structures of the brain

Front 98

magnetic source imaging (MSI)

Back 98

noninvasive neuroimaging technique to pinpoint the specific location where seizure activity originates and enable custom surgical treatment for tumor and epileptic tissue resection; also called magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Front 99

myelography

Back 99

radiographic examination to detect pathology of the spinal cord, including the location of a spinal cord injury, cysts, and tumors following injection of a contrast medium

Front 100

positron emission tomography (PET)

Back 100

computed tomography that records the positrons (positively charged particles) emitted from a radiopharmaceutical and produces a cross-sectional image of metabolic activity of body tissues to determine the presence of disease

Front 101

anesthetics

Back 101

produce partial or complete loss of sensation, with or without loss of consciousness

Front 102

general anesthetics

Back 102

act upon the brain to produce complete loss of feeling with loss of consciousness

Front 103

local anesthetics

Back 103

act upon nerves or nerve tracts to affect only a local area

Front 104

nerve block

Back 104

type of regional anesthetic to block pain from the area supplied by that nerve

Front 105

anticonvulsants

Back 105

prevent uncontrolled neuron activity associated with seizures by altering electrical transmission along neurons or altering the chemical composition of neurotransmitters; also called antiepileptics

Front 106

antiparkinsonian

Back 106

control tremors and muscle rigidity associated with Parkinson disease by increasing dopamine in the brain

Front 107

antipsychotics

Back 107

treat psychosis, paranoia, and schizophrenia by altering chemicals in the brain, including the limbic system (group of brain structures), which controls emotions

Front 108

antidepressants

Back 108

treat multiple symptoms of depression by increasing levels of specific neurotransmitters

Front 109

hypnotics

Back 109

depress central nervous system (CNS) functions, promote sedation and sleep, and relieve agitation, anxiousness, and restlessness

Front 110

psychostimulants

Back 110

reduce impulsive behavior by increasing the level of neurotransmitters

Front 111

AD

Back 111

Alzheimer disease

Front 112

ADHD

Back 112

attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder

Front 113

CNS

Back 113

central nervous system

Front 114

CP

Back 114

cerebral palsy

Front 115

CSF

Back 115

cerebrospinal fluid

Front 116

CT

Back 116

computed tomography

Front 117

CTA

Back 117

computed tomography angiography

Front 118

CVA

Back 118

cerebrovascular accident

Front 119

EEG

Back 119

electroencephalography

Front 120

EMG

Back 120

electromyography

Front 121

ICP

Back 121

intracranial pressure

Front 122

LOC

Back 122

loss of consciousness

Front 123

LP

Back 123

lumbar puncture

Front 124

MEG

Back 124

magnetoencephalography

Front 125

MRI

Back 125

magnetic resonance imaging

Front 126

MS

Back 126

musculoskeletal; multiple sclerosis; mental status; mitral stenosis

Front 127

MSI

Back 127

magnetic source imaging

Front 128

NCV

Back 128

nerve conduction velocity

Front 129

PET

Back 129

positron emission tomography

Front 130

PNS

Back 130

peripheral nervous system

Front 131

SRS

Back 131

stereotactic radiosurgery

Front 132

TIA

Back 132

transient ischemic attack