COMS 5583 Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025-2026
FAST - Answers There's treatment if you ask FAST
Face- face looks uneven?
Arm- one arm hanging down?
Speech- slurred speech?
Time- Call 911 now!
CVA - Answers cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
CVA statistics - Answers ◦75% survive past 1 month,
1/3 are alive 10 years later
Types of CVA/Stroke - Answers 1. ischemic (Occlusion)
2. hemorrhagic (bleeding)
Define Ischemic/occlusive - Answers the artery is blocked so the brain loses its blood supply.
Define hemorrhagic stroke - Answers blood is pouring out so it doesn't get to the cells down the
line. Neurons are laking oxygen
type of Ischemic strokes - Answers Thrombolytic stroke- build up in veins
Embolic stroke- clot happens somewhere else and travels to another place. EX: there's a clot in
a leg that travels to the brain and causes damage to the brain.
What is a TIA? - Answers Transient Ischemic Attack. Mini-stroke. Temporary loss of blood
supply to the brain.
◦Transient Interruptions of Cerebral Blood Supply
Temporary disruptions of cerebral circulation causing rapidly developing episodes of----
◦Last < 24 hours, usually < 60 minutes.
◦Many stroke patients have a history of TIAs.
- can be treated with blood thinners.
hemorrhagic stroke types - Answers Extracerebral-
Subarachnoid
, Subdural
Epidural
Intracerebral- into brain tissue
Covering PAD - Pia, Arachnoid, Dura
hemorrhagic stroke causes - Answers (cerebral hemorrhages)
◼caused by rupture of a cerebral blood vessels
◼May be caused by weakness of a vessel wall, traumatic injury to a vessel, or extreme
fluctuations in blood pressure
- DO NOT treat with blood thinners!
Meninges - Answers three layers of connective tissue in which the brain and spinal cord are
wrapped
P- pia matter- innermost layer
A- arachnoid matter- middle
D- dura matter- outermost later
intracerebral hemorrhage - Answers a type of hemorrhagic stroke in which bleeding within the
brain caused by a rupture of a blood vessel occurs; often caused by hypertension and is
associated with increased intracranial pressure.
⚫90% -high blood pressure
⚫divide brain matter along white matter but tend not to destroy the tracts.
⚫Most are not surgically reparable because it is usually located deep in the brain
CVA Symptoms (sudden) - Answers Body- paralysis on one side (arm, leg) weaknesses,
numbness
Vision- Blurred or double vision
Language- Slurred speech, unable to repeat or recall words
,Balance- dizziness, falls
severe headache, with any of the other symptoms.
What can cause aphasia? - Answers -TBI
-Tumors
-Toxemia (poisoning)
- Nutrition problems
- Degenerative diseases
True or False : A CVA is the 1st leading cause of death in the USA? - Answers FALSE : Is the 3rd
leading cause of death
True or False : A CVA is the 1st leading cause of long-term disability - Answers TRUE
What is the survival rate of a stroke? - Answers 75% survive past 1 month, 1/3 are alive 10 years
later
MCA (middle cerebral artery) - Answers A stroke of this artery most likely results in aphasia
because it feeds to Broca's Wernicke's and the articulate fascicules.
What does a CVA do? - Answers depends the location and severity of the interruption of blood
flow
Define Brain stem and cerebellar strokes - Answers is the occlusion of Vertebral and basilar
arteries causing dysarthria.
hemorrhagic stroke facts - Answers -Can be fatal if it takes a long time to be diagnosed
- Do not give blood thinners
- Severity is based on the location
- Alteration of consciousness
- Recovers cognitive function and language. Intracerebral (inside) is worst than extracerebral
(outside)
Describe fluent aphasia - Answers Normal to excessive __Output__
Normal articulation with little effort
Phrases average __5 words__
, Normal melodic quality
Describe NON-fluent aphasia - Answers -agrammatic
-effortful
-halting
-slow speech with impaired prosody
-limited
Decreased __output single words to telegraphic speech_
Considerable effort to _initiate speech_
Dysprosody
Describe Anomic Aphasia - Answers · Circumlocution- trying to name an object
· Naming object difficulty
· Fluent speech
· Normal auditory comprehension
· Normal repetition
Loss of the ability to name objects or retrieve names of people
Describe conduction aphasia - Answers Rare, caused by lesions in the Arcuate Fasciculus.
Major characteristics include: poor repetition of longer words and function words, near normal
auditory comprehension, better comprehension of silently read material, fluent aphasia
Describe Wernicke's aphasia - Answers -damage to Wernicke's area--> deficit in comprehending
speech
· Empty speech
· Fluent
· Paraphasia
· Difficulty naming
· Decreased auditory comprehension
Describe Broca's aphasia - Answers -damage to Broca's area--> deficit in the ability to produce
speech (non-fluent)
FAST - Answers There's treatment if you ask FAST
Face- face looks uneven?
Arm- one arm hanging down?
Speech- slurred speech?
Time- Call 911 now!
CVA - Answers cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
CVA statistics - Answers ◦75% survive past 1 month,
1/3 are alive 10 years later
Types of CVA/Stroke - Answers 1. ischemic (Occlusion)
2. hemorrhagic (bleeding)
Define Ischemic/occlusive - Answers the artery is blocked so the brain loses its blood supply.
Define hemorrhagic stroke - Answers blood is pouring out so it doesn't get to the cells down the
line. Neurons are laking oxygen
type of Ischemic strokes - Answers Thrombolytic stroke- build up in veins
Embolic stroke- clot happens somewhere else and travels to another place. EX: there's a clot in
a leg that travels to the brain and causes damage to the brain.
What is a TIA? - Answers Transient Ischemic Attack. Mini-stroke. Temporary loss of blood
supply to the brain.
◦Transient Interruptions of Cerebral Blood Supply
Temporary disruptions of cerebral circulation causing rapidly developing episodes of----
◦Last < 24 hours, usually < 60 minutes.
◦Many stroke patients have a history of TIAs.
- can be treated with blood thinners.
hemorrhagic stroke types - Answers Extracerebral-
Subarachnoid
, Subdural
Epidural
Intracerebral- into brain tissue
Covering PAD - Pia, Arachnoid, Dura
hemorrhagic stroke causes - Answers (cerebral hemorrhages)
◼caused by rupture of a cerebral blood vessels
◼May be caused by weakness of a vessel wall, traumatic injury to a vessel, or extreme
fluctuations in blood pressure
- DO NOT treat with blood thinners!
Meninges - Answers three layers of connective tissue in which the brain and spinal cord are
wrapped
P- pia matter- innermost layer
A- arachnoid matter- middle
D- dura matter- outermost later
intracerebral hemorrhage - Answers a type of hemorrhagic stroke in which bleeding within the
brain caused by a rupture of a blood vessel occurs; often caused by hypertension and is
associated with increased intracranial pressure.
⚫90% -high blood pressure
⚫divide brain matter along white matter but tend not to destroy the tracts.
⚫Most are not surgically reparable because it is usually located deep in the brain
CVA Symptoms (sudden) - Answers Body- paralysis on one side (arm, leg) weaknesses,
numbness
Vision- Blurred or double vision
Language- Slurred speech, unable to repeat or recall words
,Balance- dizziness, falls
severe headache, with any of the other symptoms.
What can cause aphasia? - Answers -TBI
-Tumors
-Toxemia (poisoning)
- Nutrition problems
- Degenerative diseases
True or False : A CVA is the 1st leading cause of death in the USA? - Answers FALSE : Is the 3rd
leading cause of death
True or False : A CVA is the 1st leading cause of long-term disability - Answers TRUE
What is the survival rate of a stroke? - Answers 75% survive past 1 month, 1/3 are alive 10 years
later
MCA (middle cerebral artery) - Answers A stroke of this artery most likely results in aphasia
because it feeds to Broca's Wernicke's and the articulate fascicules.
What does a CVA do? - Answers depends the location and severity of the interruption of blood
flow
Define Brain stem and cerebellar strokes - Answers is the occlusion of Vertebral and basilar
arteries causing dysarthria.
hemorrhagic stroke facts - Answers -Can be fatal if it takes a long time to be diagnosed
- Do not give blood thinners
- Severity is based on the location
- Alteration of consciousness
- Recovers cognitive function and language. Intracerebral (inside) is worst than extracerebral
(outside)
Describe fluent aphasia - Answers Normal to excessive __Output__
Normal articulation with little effort
Phrases average __5 words__
, Normal melodic quality
Describe NON-fluent aphasia - Answers -agrammatic
-effortful
-halting
-slow speech with impaired prosody
-limited
Decreased __output single words to telegraphic speech_
Considerable effort to _initiate speech_
Dysprosody
Describe Anomic Aphasia - Answers · Circumlocution- trying to name an object
· Naming object difficulty
· Fluent speech
· Normal auditory comprehension
· Normal repetition
Loss of the ability to name objects or retrieve names of people
Describe conduction aphasia - Answers Rare, caused by lesions in the Arcuate Fasciculus.
Major characteristics include: poor repetition of longer words and function words, near normal
auditory comprehension, better comprehension of silently read material, fluent aphasia
Describe Wernicke's aphasia - Answers -damage to Wernicke's area--> deficit in comprehending
speech
· Empty speech
· Fluent
· Paraphasia
· Difficulty naming
· Decreased auditory comprehension
Describe Broca's aphasia - Answers -damage to Broca's area--> deficit in the ability to produce
speech (non-fluent)
