Birth Trauma Glossary A - E
birth trauma terms:
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Abstract Concept - A concept or idea not related to any specific instance or object and which potentially can be applied to many different situations or objects. Persons with cognitive deficits often have difficulty understanding abstract concepts.
Abstract Thinking - Being able to apply abstract concepts to new situations and surroundings.
Acalculia - The inability to perform simple problems of arithmetic.
Acute Care - The phase of managing health problems which is conducted in a hospital on patients needing medical attention.
Acute Rehabilitation - Based in a medical facility; accepts patient as soon as medically stable; focuses on intensive physical and cognitive restorative services in early months after injury; typical length of stay one week to several months (short term); identifiable team and program with specialized unit.
Adaptive/Assistive Equipment - A special device which assists in the performance of self-care, work or play/leisure activities or physical exercise.
ADL - Activities of daily living. Routine activities carried out for personal hygiene and health (including bathing, dressing, feeding) and for operating a household.
Affect - The observable emotional condition of an individual at any given time.
Agnosia - Failure to recognize familiar objects although the sensory mechanism is intact. May occur for any sensory modality.
Agraphia - Inability to express thoughts in writing.
Alexia - Inability to read.
Ambulate - To walk.
Amnesia - Lack of memory about events occurring during a particular period of time. See also: anterograde amnesia, retrograde amnesia, post-traumatic amnesia.
Aneurysm - A balloon-like deformity in the wall of a blood vessel. The wall weakens as the balloon grows larger, and may eventually burst, causing a hemorrhage.
Anomia - Inability to recall names of objects. Persons with this problem often can speak fluently but have to use other words to describe familiar objects.
Anosmia - Loss of the sense of smell.
Anoxia - A lack of oxygen. Cells of the brain need oxygen to stay alive. When blood flow to the brain is reduced or when oxygen in the blood is too low, brain cells are damaged.
Anterograde Amnesia - Inability to consolidate information about ongoing events. Difficulty with new learning.
Anticonvulsant - Medication used to decrease the possibility of a seizure (e.g., Dilantin, Phenobarbital, Mysoline, Tegretol).
Antidepressants - Medication used to treat depression.
Aphasia - Loss of the ability to express oneself and/or to understand language. Caused by damage to brain cells rather than deficits in speech or hearing organs.
Apraxia - Inability to carry out a complex or skilled movement; not due to paralysis, sensory changes, or deficiencies in understanding.
Arousal - Being awake. Primitive state of alertness managed by the reticular activating system (extending from medulla to the thalamus in the core of the brain stem) activating the cortex. Cognition is not possible without some degree of arousal.
Articulation - Movement of the lips, tongue, teeth and palate into specific patterns for purposes of speech. Also, a movable joint.
Aspiration - When fluid or food enters the lungs through the wind pipe. Can cause a lung infection or pneumonia.
Astereognosia - Inability to recognize things by touch.
Ataxia - A problem of muscle coordination not due to apraxia, weakness, rigidity, spasticity or sensory loss. Caused by lesion of the cerebellum or basal ganglia. Can interfere with a person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and to perform other self care tasks.
Attendant Care - Provision of assistance in activities of daily living for a person with disability. Daily number of hours of required assistance, either physical or supervisory.
Atrophy - A wasting away or decrease in size of a cell, tissue, organ, or part of the body caused by lack of nourishment, inactivity or loss of nerve supply.
Attention/Concentration - The ability to focus on a given task or set of stimuli for an appropriate period of time.
Audiologist - One who evaluates hearing defects and who aids in the rehabilitation of those who have such defects.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication - Use of forms of communication other than speaking, such as: sign language, "yes, no" signals, gestures, picture board, and computerized speech systems to compensate (either temporarily or permanently) for severe expressive communication disorders.
Axon - 1. A process of a neuron that conducts impulses away from the cell body. 2. A nerve cell process that resembles an axon in structure, specifically the peripheral process of a dorsal root ganglion cell (sensory neuron) that functionally and embryologically is a dendrite, but structurally is indistinguishable from an axon.
Balance - The ability to use appropriate righting and equilibrium reactions to maintain an upright position. It is usually tested in sitting and standing positions.
Behavior - The total collection of actions and reactions exhibited by a person.
Behavior Disorders - For the patient exhibiting patterns of behavior preventing participation in active rehabilitation, including destructive patient behavior to self and others; continuum of controlled settings.
Bilateral - Pertaining to both right and left sides.
Brain Injury, Acquired - The implication of this term is that the individual experienced normal growth and development from conception through birth, until sustaining an insult to the brain at some later time which resulted in impairment of brain function.
Brain Injury, Closed - Occurs when the head accelerates and then rapidly decelerates or collides with another object (for example the windshield of a car) and brain tissue is damaged, not by the presence of a foreign object within the brain, but by violent smashing, stretching, and twisting, of brain tissue. Closed brain injuries typically cause diffuse tissue damage that results in disabilities which are generalized and highly variable.
Brain Injury, Mild - A patient with a mild traumatic brain injury is a person who has had a traumatically-induced physiological disruption of brain function, as manifested by at least one of the following: 1) any period of loss of consciousness, 2) any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident, 3) any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g., feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused), 4) focal neurological deficit(s) which may or may not be transient; but where the severity of the injury does not exceed the following: a) loss of consciousness of approximately 30 minutes or less; b) after 30 minutes, an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13-15; c) Post Traumatic Amnesia not greater than 24 hours.
Brain Injury, Traumatic - Damage to living brain tissue caused by an external, mechanical force. It is usually characterized by a period of altered consciousness (amnesia or coma) that can be very brief (minutes) or very long (months/indefinitely). The specific disabling condition(s) may be orthopedic, visual, aural, neurologic, perceptive/cognitive, or mental/emotional in nature. The term does not include brain injuries that are caused by insufficient blood supply, toxic substances, malignancy, disease-producing organisms, congential disorders, birth trauma or degenerative processes.
Brain Plasticity - The ability of intact brain cells to take over functions of damaged cells; plasticity diminishes with maturation.
Brain Scan - An imaging technique in which a radioactive dye (radionucleide) is injected into the blood stream and then pictures of the brain are taken to detect tumors, hemorrhages, blood clots, abscesses or abnormal anatomy.
Brain Stem - The lower extension of the brain where it connects to the spinal cord. Neurological functions located in the brain stem include those necessary for survival (breathing, heart rate) and for arousal (being awake and alert).
Case Management - Facilitating the access of a patient to appropriate medical, rehabilitation and support programs, and coordination of the delivery of services. This role may involve liaison with various professionals and agencies, advocacy on behalf of the patient, and arranging for purchase of services where no appropriate programs are available.
Cerebellum - The portion of the brain (located at the back) which helps coordinate movement. Damage may result in ataxia.
Cerebral-spinal Fluid (CSF) - Liquid which fills the ventricles of the brain and surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Chronic - Marked by long duration or frequent recurrence.
Circumlocution - Use of other words to describe a specific word or idea which cannot be remembered.
Client - A person under the protection of another; one who engages the professional advice or services of another. See Consumer and Patient.
Clonus - A sustained series of rhythmic jerks following quick stretch of a muscle.
Cognition - The conscious process of knowing or being aware of thoughts or perceptions, including understanding and reasoning.
Cognitive Rehabilitation - Therapy programs which aid persons in the management of specific problems in perception, memory, thinking and problem solving. Skills are practiced and strategies are taught to help improve function and/or compensate for remaining deficits. The interventions are based on an assessment and understanding of the person's brain-behavior deficits and services are provided by qualified practitioners.
Coma - A state of unconsciousness from which the patient cannot be awakened or aroused, even by powerful stimulation; lack of any response to one's environment. Defined clinically as an inability to follow a one-step command consistently; Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 or less.
Communicative Disorder - An impairment in the ability to 1) receive and/or process a symbol system, 2) represent concepts or symbol systems, and/or 3) transmit and use symbol systems. The impairment may be observed in disorders of hearing, language, and/or speech processes.
Community Integration Program - Provides services designed to accomplish functional outcomes focused on home and community integration, including productive activity. Services may be provided in residential facilities, day treatment programs, the consumer's home. They may be of short-term (several weeks) or long-term duration (several months).
Community Skills - Those abilities needed to function independently in the community. They may include: telephone skills, money management, pedestrian skills, use of public transportation, meal planning and cooking.
Comprehension - Understanding of spoken, written, or gestural communication.
Concentration - Maintaining attention on a task over a period of time; remaining attentive and not easily diverted.
Concrete Thinking - A style of thinking in which the individual sees each situation as unique and is unable to generalize from the similarities between situations. Language and perceptions are interpreted literally so that a proverb such as "a stitch in time saves nine" cannot be readily grasped.
Concussion - The common result of a blow to the head or sudden deceleration usually causing an altered mental state, either temporary or prolonged. Physiologic and/or anatomic disruption of connections between some nerve cells in the brain may occur. Often used by the public to refer to a brief loss of consciousness.
Confabulation - Verbalizations about people, places, and events with no basis in reality. May be a detailed account delivered.
Confusion - A state in which a person is bewildered, perplexed, or unable to self-orient.
Conjugate Movement - Both eyes move simultaneously in the same direction. Convergence of the eyes toward the midline (crossed eyes) is a disconjugate movement.
Contracture - Loss of range of motion in a joint due to abnormal shortening of soft tissues.
Convergence - Movement of two eyeballs inward to focus on an object moved closer. The nearer the object, the greater is the degree of convergence necessary to maintain single vision.
Cortex - The external layer of various organs esp. the gray matter covering the brain.
Cortical Blindness - Loss of vision resulting from a lesion of the primary visual areas of the occipital lobe. Light reflex is preserved.
Contrecoup - Bruising of brain tissue on the side opposite where the blow was struck.
CT Scan/Computerized Axial Tomography - A series of X-rays taken at different levels of the brain that allows the direct visualization of the skull and intracranial structures. A scan is often taken soon after the injury to help decide if surgery is needed. The scan may be repeated later to see how the brain is recovering.
Decerebrate Posture (Decerebrate Rigidity) - Exaggerated posture of extension as a result of a lesion to the prepontine area of the brain stem, and is rarely seen fully developed in humans. In reporting, it is preferable to describe the posture seen.
Decorticate Posture (Decorticate Rigidity) - Exaggerated posture of upper extremity flexion and lower extremity extension as a result of a lesion to the mesencephalon or above. In reporting, it is preferable to describe the posture seen.
Decubitus - Pressure area, bed sore, skin opening, skin breakdown. A discolored or open area of skin damage caused by pressure. Common areas most prone to breakdown are buttocks or backside, hips, shoulder blades, heels, ankles and elbows.
Dendrite - A branched protoplasmic process of a neuron that conducts impulses to the cell body. There are usually several to a cell. They form synaptic connections with other neurons.
Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) - A shearing injury of large nerve fibers (axons covered with myelin) in many areas of the brain. It appears to be one of the two primary lesions of brain injury, the other being stretching or shearing of blood vessels from the same forces, producing hemorrhage.
Diffuse Brain Injury - Injury to cells in many areas of the brain rather than in one specific location.
Diplopia - Seeing two images of a single object; double vision.
Discipline - When referring to health care or education it means a particular field of study, such as medicine, occupational therapy, nursing, recreation therapy or others.
Disinhibition - Inability to suppress (inhibit) impulsive behavior and emotions.
Disorientation - Not knowing where you are, who you are, or the current date. Health professionals often speak of a normal person as being oriented "times three" which refers to person, place and time.
DMT - Dimethyltryptamine, an agent that, in low doses, has hallucinogenic action similar to LSD.
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid. A complex protein of high molecular weight consisting of deoxyribose, phosphoric acid, and four bases (two purines, adenine and guanine, and two pyrimidines, thymine and cytosine). These are arranged as long chains that twist around each other to form a double helix joing by bonds between the complementary components. Nucleic acis is present in chromosomes of the nuclei of cells and is the chemical basis of heredity and the carrier of genetic information for all organisms except the RNA viruses.
Dopamine - An inhibitor dampening activity so we stay rooted. Travels along pathways into the brain. Plays different roles: Dopamine in the basil ganglia (in brains interior) show they are critical for executing smooth and controlled movements. Lack of dopamine is a cause of parkinson disease which a person looses the ability to initiate controlled movements. Dopamine moves into frontal lobe regulating flow of information coming in from other areas of the brain. Compromise in the flow of dopamine may cause disrupted or incoherent thought as in schizophrenia. In milder disorders, too much dopamine in the limbic system and not enough in the cortex may produce an overly suspicious personality giving to bouts of paranoia or may inhibit social interaction. A shortage of Dopamine in the frontal lobes may contribute to poor working memory. Dopamine is also thought to produce feelings of bliss (the pleasure chemical). More dopamine into the frontal lobe lessens pain and increases pleasure.
Dorsiflexion - When applied to the ankle, the ability to bend at the ankle, moving the front of the foot upward.
Dysarthria - Difficulty in forming words or speaking them because of weakness of muscles used in speaking or because of disruption in the neuromotor stimulus patterns required for accuracy and velocity of speech.
Dysphagia - A swallowing disorder characterized by difficulty in oral preparation for the swallow, or in moving material from the mouth to the stomach. This also includes problems in positioning food in the mouth.
Edema - Collection of fluid in the tissue causing swelling.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) - A procedure that uses electrodes on the scalp to record electrical activity of the brain. Used for detection of epilepsy, coma, and brain death.
Electromyography (EMG) - An insertion of needle electrodes into muscles to study the electrical activity of muscle and nerve fibers. It may be somewhat painful to the patient. Helps diagnose damage to nerves or muscles.
Emotional Lability - Exhibiting rapid and drastic changes in emotional state (laughing, crying, anger) inappropriately without apparent reason.
Endorphins - Neurochemicals which mediate pain at receptor sites. In an injury receptors in skin make electrical signals that goes up the spinal cord to the brain. The brain then evaluates pain by releasing pain killers called endorphins which bind at opiate receptor sites of neurons to mediate pain. Endorphins effect the dopamine pathway that feeds into the frontal lobe. These pathways inhibit the flow of dopamine. Vast quantities of endorphins are released and nerves are shut off so more dopamine flows through pathway to get to frontal lobe therefore replacing pain with pleasure.
Evoked Potential - Registration of the electrical responses of active brain cells as detected by electrodes placed on the surface of the head at various places. The evoked potential, unlike the waves on an EEG, is elicited by a specific stimulus applied to the visual, auditory or other sensory receptors of the body. Evoked potentials are used to diagnose a wide variety of central nervous system disorders.
Extended Care Facility-Basic - Residential facility which supplies 24-hour nursing care and supervision and assistance with activities of daily life.
Extended Care Facility, Skilled - A residential facility for the patient who requires 24-hour nursing care (IV, intramuscular injections, special feeding tubes, skin care, oxygen) and rehabilitative therapy, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy on a less intensive basis than as an inpatient in a comprehensive rehabilitation center. An extended care facility can be a short-term alternative (a few months) prior to placement at home (with outpatient therapy) or in a nursing home.
Extremity - Arm or leg.
