Medical-Surgical Nursing Exam 1 (Key Terms) - Jersey College Questions and Answers

Medical-Surgical Nursing Exam 1 (Key Terms) - Jersey College Questions and Answers otalgia sensation of fullness or pain in the ear otorrhea drainage from the ear otosclerosis a condition characterized by abnormal spongy bone formation around the stapes presbycusis progressive hearing loss associated with aging rhinorrhea drainage from the nose sensorineural hearing loss loss of hearing related to damage to the end organ for hearing or cranial nerve VIII, or both tinnitus subjective perception of sound with internal origin; unwanted noises in the head or ear tympanoplasty surgical repair of the tympanic membrane vertigo illusion of movement in which the individual or the surroundings are sensed as moving agnosia loss of ability to recognize objects through a particular sensory system; may be visual, auditory, or tactile aneurysm a weakening or bulge in an arterial wall aphasia inability to express oneself or to understand language apraxia inability to express oneself or to understand language dysphagia difficulty swallowing dysarthria defects of articulation due to neurologic causes expressive aphasia inability to express oneself; often associated with damage to the left frontal lobe area hemaniopsia blindness of half of the field of vision in one or both eyes hemiparesis weakness of one side of the body, or part of it, due to an injury in the motor area of the brain hemiplegia paralysis of one side of the body, or part of it, due to an injury in the motor area of the brain infarction tissue necrosis in an area deprived of blood supply penumbra region area of low cerebral blood flow receptive aphasia inability to understand what someone else is saying; often associated with damage to the temporal lobe area akinetic mutism unresponsiveness to the environment; the patient makes no movement or sound but sometimes opens the eyes altered level of consciousness (LOC) when a patient is not oriented, does not follow commands, or needs persistent stimuli to achieve a state of alertness autoregulation in the context of neuroscience, describes the ability of cerebral blood vessels to dilate or constrict to maintain stable cerebral blood flow despite changes in systemic arterial blood pressure brain death irreversible loss of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem coma prolonged state of unconsciousness cortical spreading depression depolarization of neuronal cells; associated with migraine craniectomy a surgical procedure that involves entry into the cranial vault cushing's response the brain's attempt to restore blood flow by increasing arterial pressure to overcome the increased intracranial pressure cushing's triad three classic signs—bradycardia, hypertension, and bradypnea—seen with pressure on the medulla as a result of brain stem herniation decerebation an abnormal body posture associated with a severe brain injury, characterixed by extreme extension of the upper and lower extremities decortication an abnormal posture associated with severe brain injury, characterized by abnormal flexion of the upper extremities and extension of the lower extremities epidural monitor a sensor placed between the skull and the dura to monitor intracranial pressure Epilepsy a group of syndromes characterized by paroxysmal transient disturbances of brain function fiberoptic monitor a system that uses light refraction to determine ICP herniation abnormal protrusion of tissue through a defect or natural opening Intracranial Pressure (ICP) pressure exerted by the volume of the intracranial contents within the cranial vault Locked-in syndrome (LIS) condition resulting from a lesion in the pons in which the patient lacks all distal motor activity (paralysis) but cognition is intact microdialysis procedure in which an intracranial catheter is inserted near an injured area of brain to measure lactate, pyruvate, glutamate, and glucose levels migraine headache a severe, unrelenting headache often accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances minimally conscious state a state in which the patient demonstrates awareness but cannot communicate thoughts or feelings