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APDP
Nervous System Symptoms - Lesson 1-4
53
Medical
Professional
01/14/2011

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Term
amnesia
Definition
Lack or loss of memory; the inability to remember past experiences.
Term
aphasia
Definition
Defect or loss of powe of expression, especially speech, but also writing or signing, or of comprehending either spoken or written language due to an injury or disease of the brain.
Term
apraxia
Definition
The loss of the ability to carry out familiar, purposeful movements in the absence of paralysis or another motor or sensory impairment.
Term
asterixis
Definition
A coarse, slow, non-rhythmic movement, usually of the outstretched hands, but also other muscle groups when there is sustained contraction of them. This is also called "liver flap" because it is associated with hepatic comas; however, it is observed in other conditions as well.
Term
ataxia
Definition
Failure of muscular cordination resulting in a reeling, wide-based gait (the manner or style of walking).
Term
athetosis
Definition
A form of dyskinesia marked by ceaseless slow, sinous, writhing movements, especially of the hands (picture a pianist just before he touches the keys, but slower) that is involuntary.
Term
catatonia
Definition
A psychomotor disturbance usually (but not always) associated with schizophrenia. It can take on different forms and severity, including a decrease in reactivity to the environment, resistance to all instructions or attempts to be moved, maintenance of a rigid posture, excited, uncontrollable and purposeless motor activity, or the assumption of bizarre fixed postures.
Term
causalgia
Definition
A burning pain due to injury of a peripheral nerve.
Term
cephalalgia
Definition
A headache. There are many different types of headaches that occur for many different reasons. A few of these are stress headaches, cluster headaches, and one of the most severe, migraine headaches.
Term
chorea
Definition
The ceaseles occurence of a wide variety of rapid, highly complex, jerky, dyskinetic movements that appear to be well coordinated, but re performed involuntarily. There are several specific types of this.
Term
concussion
Definition
A violent jar or shock to the brain or the condition that results from such an injury.
Term
convulsion
Definition
A violent, involuntary contraction or series of contractions of the usually voluntary muscles. Sometimes used interchangeably with seizure.
Term
delirium
Definition
an acute mental syndrome characterized by a reduced ability to maintain attention to external stimuli, disorganized thinking, rambling and incoherent speech, a reduced level of consciousness, incorrect sensory perceptions, disorientation to time, place, or person, and memory impairment. This is a reversible condition.
Term
delusion
Definition
A false belief that is firmly maintained despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary and in spite of members of the culture not sharing the belief. For example, an individual experiencing delusions might believe that he or she is a famous person.
Term
dementia
Definition
An organic mental syndrome characterized by a loss of intellectual abilities including impairment of memory, judgement, and abstract thinking, as well as changes in personality. This does not include functional lapses due to depression or clouding of consciousness as in delirium. It is caused by a large number of conditions, some reversible, and some progressive, which cause widespread cerebral damage. The most common cause is Alzheimer disease.
Term
dissociation
Definition
A process whereby specific internal mental contents, such as memories, idease, feelings, perceptions, are lost to conscious awareness and become unavailable to voluntary recall. This is a defense mechanism where such mental processes are separated from the rest of a person's mental activity in order to avoid emotional distress.
Term
dysarthria
Definition
Slurring and inappropriate phrasing during speech, as well as inability to control speech volume, due to disturbances of muscular control. This is a result of central or peripheral nerve damage.
Term
dysdiadochokinesia
Definition
The inability to perform rapid alternating movements.
Term
dysmetria
Definition
inability to control muscular range of motion.
Term
dysphasia
Definition
Impairment of speech, specifically lacking coordination and ability to arrange words in their proper order.
Term
dysphoria
Definition
Disquiet, restlessness, malaise.
Term
fasciculations
Definition
Brief, small irregular twitches of muscle visible through the skin, caused by a single motor filament.
Term
hallucination
Definition
A sense perception without a source i the external world. The perception of an object or sound when no such object or sound exists. These can involve all of the senses, but the most cmmon are audio and visual hallucinations.
Term
hypersomnolence
Definition
Sleep disorders consisting of the need for excessive amounts of sleep or causing extreme drowsiness when awake. This can be either psychogenc in origin, have an organic cause involving the nevous system, or be relatd to medication or drug use.
Term
hypesthesia
Definition
Abnormally decreased sensitivity, particularly to touch.
Term
hypotonia
Definition
dimished tone of the skeletal muscles.
Term
ideation
Definition
(suicidal/homicidal) ideation is the formation of a mental concept or image. Suicidal ideation is formulating thoughts about harming or killing oneself; homicidal ideation is formulating thoughts about harming or killing someone else. the presence of either of theses is taken very seriously in a medical, and specifically, a psychiatric setting.
Term
insomnia
Definition
the inability to sleep.
Term
malaise
Definition
A vague feeling of bodily discomfort nd fatigue.
Term
myoclonus
Definition
A brief, lightning-like contraction of a muscle, a portion of a muscle, or a group of muscles. This occurs in normal healthy people as they fall asleep. A hiccup is a diaphragmatic myoclonus.
Term
paralysis
Definition
Loss or impairment of motor function or sensation in a body part.
Term
paranoia
Definition
The term used to describe behavior characterized by systematic delusions of persecution, delusions of grandeur, or a combination of the two.
Term
paraphilia
Definition
In general, this is a gross impairment in the capacity for sexual activity between adult human partners. There are different types of paraphilia, and they are muchmore predominant in males. the major paraphlias are listed below.
Term
fetishism
Definition
The use of physical objects as the preferred method of producing sexual excitement (such as shoes).
Term
transvestism
Definition
Adopting the clothes or manner or sexual role of the opposite sex.
Term
pedophilia
Definition
A preference for sexual activity with prepubescent children.
Term
exhibitionism
Definition
Repetitive acts of exposing the genitals to an unsuspecting stranger for sexual excitation.
Term
voyeurism
Definition
The practice of obtaining sexual gratification from observing the naked bodies or sexual acts of others, especially from a secret vantage point.
Term
masochism
Definition
The deriving of sexual gratification from being physically or emotionally abused.
Term
sadism
Definition
The deriving of sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others.
Term
paresis
Definition
Slight or imcomplete paralysis.
Term
paresthesia
Definition
Abnormal touch sensation
Term
Phalen's sign
Definition
Test on physical examination to determine the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Term
proprioception
Definition
Test performed during physical examination where the patients reports whether a finger or toe is being moved up or down.
Term
Romberg test
Definition
Test performed during physical examination where the patient stand with feet together or walk with his/her eyes closed to determine the presence of clumsiness in movements or gait.
Term
scotoma
Definition
area of lost or depressed vision within the visual field.
Term
seizure
Definition
Sudden attack or recurrence of a disease.
Term
somnolence
Definition
Sleepiness.
Term
stupor
Definition
Lower level of consciousness.
Term
tic
Definition
Involuntary, compulsive, repetitive movement.
Term
Tinel's sign
Definition
Tingling sensation in the distal end of a limb when percussion is made over the area of the median nerve at the wrist.
Term
tremor
Definition
Involuntary trembling or quivering.
Term
vertigo
Definition
Illusory sense that either the environment orone's own body is revolving.
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