Nervous System

Front 1

a small seizure in which there is a sudden, temporary loss of consciousness, lasting only a few seconds

Back 1

absence seizure, petit mal seizures

Front 2

chemical substance that facilitates transmission of nerve impulses from one nerve to anothercan have an excitatory or depressant effect

Back 2

acetylcholine

Front 3

transmitters of nerve impulses toward the cns

Back 3

afferent or sensory nerves

Front 4

agnosia

Back 4

loss of mental ability to understand sensory stimuli

Front 5

agraphia

Back 5

the inability to convert one's thoughts into writing

Front 6

alexia

Back 6

unability to understand written words

Front 7

analgesia

Back 7

without sensitivity to pain

Front 8

anesthesia

Back 8

without feeling or sensation

Front 9

aneurysm

Back 9

localized dialation in the wall of an artery that expans with each pulsation of the artery; usually caused by hypertension or artherosclerosis

Front 10

aphasia

Back 10

inability to communicate through speech, writing, or signs because of an injury to or disease in certain areas of the brain

Front 11

apraxia

Back 11

inability to perform coordinated movements or use objects properly; not associated with sensory or motor impairment or paralysis

Front 12

arachnoid membrane

Back 12

weblike middle layer of the three membranous layers surroundidn the brain and spinal cord

Front 13

astrocyte

Back 13

star-shaped neuroglial cell found in the cns

Front 14

tumor of the brain or spinal cord composed of astrocytes

Back 14

astrocytoma

Front 15

ataxia

Back 15

without muscular coordination

Front 16

aura

Back 16

sensation an individual experiences prior to onset of migraine or epileptic seizure

Front 17

ANS

Back 17

part of the ns that regulates invouluntary vital functions

Front 18

2 divisions of the ANS

Back 18

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Front 19

axon

Back 19

part of nerve cell that transports impulses away from cell body

Front 20

blood-brain barrier

Back 20

protective characteristic of the capillary walls of the brain that prevent passage of harmful substances

Front 21

bradykinesia

Back 21

abnormally slow movement

Front 22

brain stem

Back 22

stemlike portion of the brain that connects the cerebral hemisphere with the spinal cord

Front 23

three parts of the brain stem

Back 23

midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata

Front 24

Brudzinski's sign

Back 24

positive sign of meningitis,
involuntary flexion of the arm, hip, and knee when the patient's neck is passively flexed

Front 25

burr hole

Back 25

hole drilled in skull using a form of drill

Front 26

cauda equina

Back 26

lower end of the spinal cord and the roots of the spinal nerves that occupy the spinal cord below the first lumbar vertebra; resembles a horse's tail

Front 27

causalgia

Back 27

sensation of acute burning pain along the path of a peripheral nerve, sometimes accompanied by erythoma of the skin; due to injury of the peripheral nerve fibers

Front 28

CNS

Back 28

one of the two main divisions of the nervous system, consists of the brain and spinal cord

Front 29

cephalgia

Back 29

headache

Front 30

cerebellum

Back 30

part of brain responsible for coordination voluntary muscular movement; located behind the brain stem

Front 31

cerebral contusion

Back 31

venous hemorrhages in the brain; a bruise of the brain tissue occuring when the brain strikes the inner skull

Front 32

cerebral cortex

Back 32

thin outer layer of nerve tissue, known as gray matter, covers the surface of the cerebrum

Front 33

cerebrospinal fluid

Back 33

fluid flowing through the brain and around the spinal cord that protects them from physical blow or impact

Front 34

cerebrum

Back 34

larges and uppermost part of the brain; controls consciousness, memory, sensations, emotions, and voluntary movements

Front 35

Cheyne-Stokes respiratios

Back 35

abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by periods of apnea followed by deep, rapid breathing

Front 36

coma

Back 36

deep sleep in which individual cannot be aroused and does not respond to external stimuli

Front 37

comatose

Back 37

pertains to being in a coma

Front 38

contracture

Back 38

permanant shortening of a muscle causing a joint to remian in an abnormally flexed position, with resultant physical deformity

Front 39

convolution or gyrus

Back 39

elevated fold of the surface of the cerebrum

Front 40

cainiotomy

Back 40

surgical incision into the cranium or skull

Front 41

deficit

Back 41

any deficency or variation of the normal, as in weakness deficit resulting from cerebrovascular accident

Front 42

dementia

Back 42

progressive, irreversible mental disorder in which the person has deteriorating memory, judgment, and ability to think

Front 43

demyelination

Back 43

destruction or removal of the myelin sheath that covers a nerve or nerve fiber

Front 44

dendrite

Back 44

projection that extends from the nerve cell body; receives impulses and conducts them on to the cell body

Front 45

diencephalom

Back 45

part of the brain between the cerebrum and midbraim

Front 46

three structures of the diencephalom

Back 46

thalamus, hypothalamus, and pineal gland

Front 47

diplopia or ambiopia

Back 47

double vision