SOLUTIONS GUARANTEE A+
✔✔Efferent Signals - ✔✔Signals sent from the central nervous system to the rest of the
body through the foramen magnum via the spinal cord
✔✔Cervical Vertebrae - ✔✔Made up of 7 vertebrae, primary function to support and
move the skull
✔✔Thoracic Vertebrae - ✔✔Made up of 12 vertebrae, primary function is stability
✔✔Lumbar Vertebrae - ✔✔Made up of 5 vertebrae, primary function is weight bearing
✔✔Sacral Vertebrae - ✔✔Made up of 5 vertebrae, located at the base of the spine
meeting the pelvis
✔✔CT Scan - ✔✔X-ray used in conjunction with a computer, only capable of showing
what the naked eye can see
✔✔MRI - ✔✔Uses magnetic field in conjunction with a computer, a more detailed scan
ideal for seeing soft tissue damage, can detect changes in blood flow and track cellular
activity
✔✔Blood Brain Barrier - ✔✔A filter within the red blood cells which allows blood to enter
the brain but blocks harmful substances from entering
✔✔Neuroplasticity - ✔✔The ability of the nervous system to change, grow, or
compensate for an injury
The brain can change and re-map! Based on the Hebbian Principle which states that
every rehearsal of a skill strengthens memory trace in the brain
*Hippocampus may contain stem cells which can generate new brain cells if optimized
by therapy!
✔✔Synaptogenesis - ✔✔A part of nueroplasticity - the formation of synapses between
nuerons
The more synapses there are the more efficiently nuerons can communicate!
✔✔Nueroprotection - ✔✔Preventing secondary damage post injury
✔✔Apoptosis - ✔✔Process in which a brain cell self destructs if it is not working as it
should be
,✔✔Experience Dependent Learning - ✔✔Neural connections that are established which
depend entirely on and are due to an environmental experience
✔✔Autonomic Storming - ✔✔Also called dysautonomia, autonomic hyperreflexia,
sympathetic storming
A disorder of the autonomic nervous system that involves failure of the
sympathetic/parasympathetic components of the ANS.
Characterized by resting tachycardia, labored breathing, gastroparesis, sweating
irregularities, hypotension, constipation, and erectile disfunction
15-33% of TBIs sustainees experience AS
✔✔Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) - ✔✔Bloodclots
Symptoms include shortness of breath, pain/discomfort that worsens with coughing or
breathing, light headedness, dizziness, feeling faint, coughing up blood, rapid pulse
✔✔Pulmonary Embolism (PE) - ✔✔Occurs when a blood clot travels to the lungs- same
symptoms for DVT
✔✔Disinhibited Nuerogenic Bladder - ✔✔Neurological impairment in CNS or PNS
causing decreased bladder capacity, increased urgency, increased frequency and
incontinence with intact bladder sensation
✔✔Treatment for Bowel and Bladder Incontinence - ✔✔Best when initiate early on -
treatment includes exterior cathing and suppository schedules, toileting schedules, and
close monitoring of intake
UTI's extremely common due to cathing - risk of UTI is increased with use of in-dwelling
catheters, especially if cognitive impairment is present
✔✔Aspiration - ✔✔Caused by dysphagia - when liquid enters into the lungs
Commonly leads to aspiration pneumonia
Specialized diets are often prescribed if there is a risk of dysphagia - may include
thickened liquids and diets with altered consistency
✔✔Seizures and TBI - ✔✔Caused by an imbalance of nuerotransmitters or an abnormal
and disorderly discharge of electrical activity in the cells of the brain
TBI sustainees 22x more likely to die from a seizure than general population
, Immediate post TBI convulsions are most common but not believed to be a predictor of
prolonged seizure disorder
Seizures occurring 1 wk post TBI are strong predictor of future patterns
✔✔Status Epilepticus - ✔✔A seizure lasting longer than 5 minutes or seizures that
occur close together, when one seizure occurs before fully recovering from previous
seizure
Associated with the following risk factors: penetrating TBI, severity of injury,
hematomas, contusions, post traumatic amnesia lasting more than 24 hours, alcohol
use, being a child or adolescent
✔✔Cranial Nerve Damage - ✔✔Associated with higher level severity BIs
Cranial nerve 1 is most commonly injured, all are susceptible to injury due to placement
near bony skull prominences
Can heal and repair selves if stretched or bruised, tingling and pain can be a sign of
repair
✔✔Cranial Nerve Functions - ✔✔I Olfactory (smell)
II Optic (sight)
III Occulomotor (eye movement)
IV Trochlear (downward, inward eye movement)
V Trigeminal (sense of touch in the face)
VI Abducens (horizontal eye movement)
VII Facial (facial expressions)
VIII Auditory-Vestibular
IX Glossopharyngeal (throat, taste, BP)
X Vagus (heart, lungs, abdominal organs)
XI Spinal Accessory (throat & neck muscles)
XII Hyposglossal (speech)
✔✔Nocioceptive Pain - ✔✔Pain relating to damage to body tissue
Treated with NSAIDS, Tylenol, topical agents, anti-spasticity meds, and opioids
✔✔Neuropathic Pain - ✔✔Pain relating to dysfunction of nervous system itself - damage
to actual nerves
Treated with NSAIDS, Tylenol, topical agents, anti-spasticity meds, opioids, anti-
depressants, nerve blocks, trigger point injections, anti-convulsants, and epidural
steroids