WKU NURS 335 CHAPTER 23 2026/2027 – HEALTH ASSESSMENT STUDY GUIDE,
PRACTICE QUESTIONS & EXAM REVIEW
agnosia - ANS ✔✔loss of ability to recognize importance of sensory impressions
agraphia - ANS ✔✔loss of ability to express thoughts in writing
amnesia - ANS ✔✔loss of memory
analgesia - ANS ✔✔loss of pain sensation
aphasia - ANS ✔✔loss of power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or loss of comprehension of
spoken or written language
apraxia - ANS ✔✔loss of ability to perform purposeful movements in the absence of sensory or motor
changes (inability to use objects correctly)
ataxia - ANS ✔✔inability to perform coordinated movements
athetosis - ANS ✔✔bizarre, slow, twisting, writhing ,movement, resembling a snake or worm
chorea - ANS ✔✔sudden, rapid, jerky, purposeless movement involving limbs, trunk, or face
clonus - ANS ✔✔rapidly alternating involuntary contraction and relaxation of a muscle in response to
sudden stretch
coma - ANS ✔✔state of profound unconsciousness from which person cannot be aroused
decerebrate rigidity - ANS ✔✔arms stiffly extended, a adducted, internally rotated; legs stiffly extended,
plantar flexed
decorticate rigidity - ANS ✔✔arms adducted and flexed, writs and fingers flexed; legs extended,
internally rotated, plantar flexed
dysarthria - ANS ✔✔imperfect articulation of speech due to problems of muscular control resulting from
central or peripheral nervous system damage
dysphasia - ANS ✔✔impairment in speech consisting of lack of coordination and inability to arrange
words in their proper order
extinction - ANS ✔✔disappearance of conditioned response
fasciculation - ANS ✔✔rapid continuous twitching of resting muscle without movement of limb
flaccidity - ANS ✔✔loss of muscle tone, limp
, graphesthesia - ANS ✔✔ability to "read" a number by having it traced in the skin
hemiplegia - ANS ✔✔loss of motor power (paralysis) on one side of the body, usually caused by a stroke;
paralysis occurs on the side opposite of the lesion
lower motor neuron - ANS ✔✔motor neuron in the peripheral nervous system with its nerve fiber
extending out to the muscle and only its cell body in the central nervous system
myoclonus - ANS ✔✔rapid sudden jerk of a muscle
nuchal rigidity - ANS ✔✔stiffness in cervical neck area
nystagmus - ANS ✔✔back and forth oscillation of the eyes
opisthotonos - ANS ✔✔prolonged arching of back, with head and heels bent backward, and meningeal
irritation
paralysis - ANS ✔✔decreased loss of motor function due to problem with motor nerve or muscle fibers
paraplegia - ANS ✔✔impairment or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the lower half of the body
paresthesia - ANS ✔✔abnormal sensation (burning, numbness, tingling, prickling, crawling skin
sensation)
point localization - ANS ✔✔ability of the person to discriminate exactly where on the body the skin has
been touched
proprioception - ANS ✔✔sensory information concerning body movements and position of the body in
space
spasticity - ANS ✔✔continuous resistance to stretching by a muscle due to abnormally increased
tension, with increased deep tendon reflexes
stereognosis - ANS ✔✔ability to recognize objects by feeling their forms, sizes, and weights while the
eyes are closed
tic - ANS ✔✔repetitive twitching of a muscle group at inappropriate times (wink, grimace)
tremor - ANS ✔✔involuntary contraction of opposing muscle groups resulting in rhythmic movement of
one or more joints
two-point discrimination - ANS ✔✔ability to distinguish the separation of two simultaneous pinpricks on
the skin
upper motor neuron - ANS ✔✔nerve located entirely within the central nervous system
The extrapyramidal system is located in the:
A) hypothalamus.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS & EXAM REVIEW
agnosia - ANS ✔✔loss of ability to recognize importance of sensory impressions
agraphia - ANS ✔✔loss of ability to express thoughts in writing
amnesia - ANS ✔✔loss of memory
analgesia - ANS ✔✔loss of pain sensation
aphasia - ANS ✔✔loss of power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or loss of comprehension of
spoken or written language
apraxia - ANS ✔✔loss of ability to perform purposeful movements in the absence of sensory or motor
changes (inability to use objects correctly)
ataxia - ANS ✔✔inability to perform coordinated movements
athetosis - ANS ✔✔bizarre, slow, twisting, writhing ,movement, resembling a snake or worm
chorea - ANS ✔✔sudden, rapid, jerky, purposeless movement involving limbs, trunk, or face
clonus - ANS ✔✔rapidly alternating involuntary contraction and relaxation of a muscle in response to
sudden stretch
coma - ANS ✔✔state of profound unconsciousness from which person cannot be aroused
decerebrate rigidity - ANS ✔✔arms stiffly extended, a adducted, internally rotated; legs stiffly extended,
plantar flexed
decorticate rigidity - ANS ✔✔arms adducted and flexed, writs and fingers flexed; legs extended,
internally rotated, plantar flexed
dysarthria - ANS ✔✔imperfect articulation of speech due to problems of muscular control resulting from
central or peripheral nervous system damage
dysphasia - ANS ✔✔impairment in speech consisting of lack of coordination and inability to arrange
words in their proper order
extinction - ANS ✔✔disappearance of conditioned response
fasciculation - ANS ✔✔rapid continuous twitching of resting muscle without movement of limb
flaccidity - ANS ✔✔loss of muscle tone, limp
, graphesthesia - ANS ✔✔ability to "read" a number by having it traced in the skin
hemiplegia - ANS ✔✔loss of motor power (paralysis) on one side of the body, usually caused by a stroke;
paralysis occurs on the side opposite of the lesion
lower motor neuron - ANS ✔✔motor neuron in the peripheral nervous system with its nerve fiber
extending out to the muscle and only its cell body in the central nervous system
myoclonus - ANS ✔✔rapid sudden jerk of a muscle
nuchal rigidity - ANS ✔✔stiffness in cervical neck area
nystagmus - ANS ✔✔back and forth oscillation of the eyes
opisthotonos - ANS ✔✔prolonged arching of back, with head and heels bent backward, and meningeal
irritation
paralysis - ANS ✔✔decreased loss of motor function due to problem with motor nerve or muscle fibers
paraplegia - ANS ✔✔impairment or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the lower half of the body
paresthesia - ANS ✔✔abnormal sensation (burning, numbness, tingling, prickling, crawling skin
sensation)
point localization - ANS ✔✔ability of the person to discriminate exactly where on the body the skin has
been touched
proprioception - ANS ✔✔sensory information concerning body movements and position of the body in
space
spasticity - ANS ✔✔continuous resistance to stretching by a muscle due to abnormally increased
tension, with increased deep tendon reflexes
stereognosis - ANS ✔✔ability to recognize objects by feeling their forms, sizes, and weights while the
eyes are closed
tic - ANS ✔✔repetitive twitching of a muscle group at inappropriate times (wink, grimace)
tremor - ANS ✔✔involuntary contraction of opposing muscle groups resulting in rhythmic movement of
one or more joints
two-point discrimination - ANS ✔✔ability to distinguish the separation of two simultaneous pinpricks on
the skin
upper motor neuron - ANS ✔✔nerve located entirely within the central nervous system
The extrapyramidal system is located in the:
A) hypothalamus.
