Head Injury Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer).

Absorption: Uptake. In the biomedical sciences, absorption has diverse specific meanings.
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Airway: The path air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are the normal entry and exit ports. Entering air then passes through the back of the throat (pharynx), continues through the voice box (larynx), down the trachea, and finally out the branching tubes known as bronchi.

Amnesia: Lack of memory. Amnesia after trauma can be antegrade or retrograde, depending upon whether the lack of memory relates to events occurring after or before the trauma. Amnesia is as compared to hypermnesia and hypomnesia. From a- + the Greek mneme, memory.
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Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues.

Aneurysm: A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, vein, or the heart. At the area of an aneurysm, there is typically a bulge and the wall is weakened and may rupture. The word "aneurysm" comes from the Greek "aneurysma" meaning "a widening."
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Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the farthest reaches of the body. Since blood in arteries is usually full of oxygen, the hemoglobin in the red blood cells is oxygenated. The resultant form of hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin) is what makes arterial blood look bright red.
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Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection with no symptoms.

Atrophy: Wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is wasting of muscle, decrease in muscle mass.
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Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms which can exist either as independent (free-living) organisms or as parasites (dependent upon another organism for life).
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Basilar: Located at or near the base of a structure, especially the base of the skull.
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Blood clot: Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a thrombus.
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Brain: That part of the central nervous system that is located within the cranium (skull). The brain functions as the primary receiver, organizer and distributor of information for the body. It has two (right and left) halves called "hemispheres."

Brain stem: The stemlike part of the brain that is connected to the spinal cord. Or conversely, the extension of the spinal cord up into the brain. The brain stem is small but important. It manages messages going between the brain and the rest of the body, and it also controls basic body functions such as breathing, swallowing, heart rate, and blood pressure. The brain stem also controls consciousness and determines whether one is awake or sleepy.
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Brain swelling: See: Cerebral edema.

Brainstem: The lowest part of the brain which merges with the spinal cord and provides the major route by which the upper realms of the brain send information to, and receives information from, the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The brainstem consists of the medulla oblongata, midbrain, and pons. All but two of the 12 cranial nerves originate in the brainstem. The brainstem influences basic processes such as alertness, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through the mouth or nose due to muscle contraction, and then exhaled due to muscle relaxation.

Bruise: A bruise or "contusion" is an traumatic injury of the soft tissues which results in breakage of the local capillaries and leakage of red blood cells. In the skin it can be seen as a reddish-purple discoloration that does not blanch when pressed upon. When a bruise fades it becomes green and brown as the body metabolizes the blood cells in the skin. It is best treated with local application of a cold pack immediately after injury. Also called a contusion.

CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US agency charged with tracking and investigating public health trends. The stated mission of the CDC is "To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability." The CDC is a part of the U.S. Public Health Services (PHS) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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Cell: The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane.
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Cerebral: Pertaining to the brain, the cerebrum or the intellect.
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Cerebral aneurysm: A localized widening of a vessel within the brain. See: Berry aneurysm.

Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Circulation: The movement of fluid in a regular or circuitous course. Although the noun "circulation" does not necessarily refer to the circulation of the blood, for all practical purposes today it does. Heart failure is an example of a problem with the circulation.

Coma: A state of deep unarousable unconsciousness.
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Complication: In medicine, an additional problem that arises following a procedure, treatment or illness and is secondary to it. A complication complicates the situation.

Compress: 1. As a noun, a cloth or another material applied under pressure to an area of the skin and held in place for a period of time. A compress can be any temperature (cold, luke warm, or hot) and it can be dry or wet. It may also be impregnated with medication or, in traditional medicine, an herbal remedy. Most compresses are used to relieve inflammation.
2. As a verb, to squeeze or press together. An injury can compress the spinal cord.

Computerized tomography: Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them in pictures.
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Concussion: A traumatic injury to tissues of the body such as the brain as a result of a violent blow, shaking, or spinning.
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Contusion: Another name for a bruise. What is a bruise ? A bruise, or contusion, is caused when blood vessels are damaged or broken as the result of a blow to the skin (be it bumping against something or hitting yourself with a hammer). The raised area of a bump or bruise results from blood leaking from these injured blood vessels into the tissues as well as from the body's response to the injury. A purplish, flat bruise that occurs when blood leaks out into the top layers of skin is referred to as an ecchymosis.

Cortex: The outer portion of an organ.
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CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them into pictures on a screen. CT stands for computerized tomography.
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies. 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Dura: The outermost, toughest, and most fibrous of the three membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. Dura is short for dura mater (from the Latin for hard mother). Also called the pachymeninx (singular) or pachymeniges (plural).
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Ear: The hearing organ. There are three sections of the ear, according to the anatomy textbooks. They are the outer ear (the part we see along the sides of our head behind the temples), the middle ear, and the inner ear. But in terms of function, the ear has four parts: those three and the brain. Hearing thus involves all parts of the ear as well as the auditory cortex of the brain. The external ear helps concentrate the vibrations of air on the ear drum and make it vibrate. These vibrations are transmitted by a chain of little bones in the middle ear to the inner ear. There they stimulate the fibers of the auditory nerve to transmit impulses to the brain.
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Edema: The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess water accumulation.
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Enoxaparin: A low-molecular-weight version of heparin which acts like heparin as an anticoagulant (anti-clotting) medication. Enoxaparin is used to prevent thromboembolic complications (clots that travel from their site of origin through the blood stream to clog up another vessel). Enoxaparin is also used in the early treatment of blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolisms).

Epidural: Outside the dura, the outermost, toughest, and most fibrous of the three membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. An epidural hematoma is a collection of blood beneath the skull but outside the dura.

Epidural hematoma: A hematoma between the cranium (skull) and the brain's tissue-like covering, which is known as the dura. Epidural hematoma is usually caused by a full-on blow to the head, and is often associated with a skull fracture. Diagnosis is usually by CAT scan. Treatment is by trepanation: drilling through the skull to drain the excess blood.
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Flexion: The process of bending or the state of being bent. Flexion of the fingers results in a clenched fist.

Fracture: A break in bone or cartilage. Although usually the result of trauma, a fracture can be caused by an acquired disease of bone such as osteoporosis or by abnormal formation of bone in a disease such as osteogenesis imperfecta ("brittle bone disease"). Fractures are classified according to their character and location as, for example, a greenstick fracture of the radius.
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Frontal: In anatomy, pertaining to the forehead. As, for example, the frontal bone, frontal sinus, and frontal nerve. From the Latin "frons" meaning the forehead or brow.

Head injury: Damage to any of the structures of the head as a result of trauma. While the term "head injury" is most often used to refer to an injury to the brain, head injuries may also involve the bones, muscles, blood vessels, skin, and other organs of the face or head. A head injury does not always mean that there is an associated brain injury. Most head injuries are caused by blows to the head from numerous causes including motor vehicle accidents and falls. Head injuries are one of the most common causes of death and disability in the United States.
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Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the head (occipital), or in the back of the upper neck. Headache, like chest pain or back ache, has many causes.
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Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest.
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Hematoma: An abnormal localized collection of blood in which the blood is usually clotted or partially clotted and is usually situated within an organ or a soft tissue space, such as within a muscle.
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Hemorrhage: Bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.
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Heparin: An anticoagulant (anti-clotting) medication. Heparin is useful in preventing thromboembolic complications (clots that travel from their site of origin through the blood stream to clog up another vessel). Heparin is also used in the early treatment of blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolisms).

Infant: A child up to 2 years (24 months) of age.
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Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.

Intracranial: Within the cranium, the bony dome that houses and protects the brain.
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Leg: In popular usage, the leg extends from the top of the thigh down to the foot. However, in medical terminology, the leg refers to the portion of the lower extremity from the knee to the ankle.
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Lethargy: 1. Abnormal drowsiness, stupor. 2. A state of indifference.
From the Greek lethargia, drowsiness.

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may contain clues bearing on their health past, present, and future. The medical history, being an account of all medical events and problems a person has experienced, including psychiatric illness, is especially helpful when a differential diagnosis is needed.
2. The history of medicine.

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. 2. The process of recovering information about past events or knowledge. 3. Cognitive reconstruction. The brain engages in a remarkable reshuffling process in an attempt to extract what is general and what is particular about each passing moment.
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Meninges: The three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (singular: meninx).
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Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges, usually due to a bacterial infection but sometimes from viral, protozoan, or other causes (in some cases the cause cannot be determined).
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Motor: In medicine, having to do with the movement of a part of the body. Something that produces motion or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve cell that conveys an impulse to a muscle causing it to contract. The term "motor" today is also applied to a nerve that signals a gland to secrete. Motor is as opposed to sensory.

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and containing the teeth, gums, and tongue. Foodstuffs are broken down mechanically in the mouth by chewing and saliva is added as a lubricant. Saliva contains amylase, an enzyme that digests starch. 2. Any opening or aperture in the body. The mouth in both senses of the word is also called the os, the Latin word for an opening, or mouth. The o in os is pronounced as in hope. The genitive form of os is oris from which comes the word oral.

Nausea: Nausea, is the urge to vomit. It can be brought by many causes including, systemic illnesses, such as influenza, medications, pain, and inner ear disease. When nausea and/or vomiting are persistent, or when they are accompanied by other severe symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, or bleeding, a physician should be consulted.

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constricted part of a bone or organ that joins its parts as, for example, the neck of the femur bone.

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.

Nose: The external midline projection from the face.
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Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the breast.

Occipital: 1. Pertaining to the occiput, the back of head.
2. Located near the occipital bone as, for example, the occipital lobe of the brain.

Occipital bone: The bone that forms the rear and the rear bottom of the skull. The occipital bone encloses a large oval hole called the foramen magnum that allows passage of the spinal cord. The occipital bone articulates (joins) with the parietal and temporal bones of the skull, the sphenoid bone in front of it, and the first cervical vertebra (the atlas) beneath it
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Open fracture: A fracture in which the bone is sticking through the skin. Also called a compound fracture.

Operation: Although there are many meanings to the word "operation", in medicine it refers to a surgical procedure.
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Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Parietal: Adjective from the Latin "parietalis" meaning "belonging to the wall" that the ancient anatomists used to designate the wall, as of a body cavity.
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Pediatrics: "Pediatrics is concerned with the health of infants, children and adolescents, their growth and development, and their opportunity to achieve full potential as adults." (Richard E.Behrman in Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics)
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Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient. A prescription has several parts. They include the superscription or heading with the symbol "R" or "Rx", which stands for the word recipe (meaning, in Latin, to take); the inscription, which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients; the subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and the signature which is often preceded by the sign "s" standing for signa (Latin for mark), giving the directions to be marked on the container.

Primary care: The "medical home" for a patient, ideally providing continuity and integration of health care. All family physicians and most pediatricians and internists are in primary care. The aims of primary care are to provide the patient with a broad spectrum of care, both preventive and curative, over a period of time and to coordinate all of the care the patient receives.

Prognosis: 1. The expected course of a disease.
2. The patient's chance of recovery.
The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient. His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good.
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Resuscitation: The procedure of restoring to life, as in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of the body by gathering information with a sensing device.
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Seizure: Uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain, which may produce a physical convulsion, minor physical signs, thought disturbances, or a combination of symptoms.
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Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming (afferent) nerve impulse in that part of the brain called the sensorium, which is capable of such perception. Therefore, the awareness of a stimulus as a result of its perception by sensory receptors. (Sensory is here synonymous with sensation.)
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Shock: In medicine, shock is a critical condition brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow through the body. There is failure of the circulatory system to maintain adequate blood flow. This sharply curtails the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to vital organs. It also compromises the kidney and so curtails the removal of wastes from the body. Shock can be due to a number of different mechanisms including not enough blood volume (hypovolemic shock) and not enough output of blood by the heart (cardiogenic shock). The signs and symptoms of shock include low blood pressure (hypotension), overbreathing (hyperventilation), a weak rapid pulse, cold clammy grayish-bluish (cyanotic) skin, decreased urine flow (oliguria), and mental changes (a sense of great anxiety and foreboding, confusion and, sometimes, combativeness).
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Short-term memory: A system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Short-term memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information-processing functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data.
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Skull: The skull is a collection of bones which encase the brain and give form to the head and face. The bones of the skull include the following: the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid, zygomatic, maxilla, nasal, vomer, palatine, inferior concha, and mandible.
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Sleep: The body's rest cycle.
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Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies within the vertebral canal and from which the spinal nerves emerge. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves originate in the spinal cord: 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal. The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system (CNS). The spinal cord consists of nerve fibers that transmit impulses to and from the brain. Like the brain, the spinal cord is covered by three connective-tissue envelopes called the meninges. The space between the outer and middle envelopes is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear colorless fluid that cushions the spinal cord against jarring shock. Also known simply as the cord.
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Spinal cord injury: Trauma or damage to the spinal cord, the major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies within the vertebral canal and from which the spinal nerves emerge. The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system. The spinal cord consists of nerve fibers that transmit impulses to and from the brain. Like the brain, the spinal cord is covered by three connective-tissue envelopes called the meninges. The space between the outer and middle envelopes is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear colorless fluid that cushions the spinal cord against jarring shock.
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Stroke: The sudden death of some brain cells due to a lack of oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain. A stroke is also called a cerebrovascular accident or, for short, a CVA.
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Subarachnoid: Literally, beneath the arachnoid, the middle of three membranes that cover the central nervous system. In practice, subarachnoid usually refers to the space between the arachnoid and the pia mater, the innermost membrane surrounding the central nervous system.
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Subarachnoid hemorrhage: Bleeding within the head into the space between two membranes that surround the brain. The bleeding is beneath the arachnoid membrane and just above the pia mater. (The arachnoid is the middle of three membranes around the brain while the pia mater is the innermost one.)
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Subdural: Below the dura, the outermost, toughest, and most fibrous of the three membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. An subdural hematoma is a collection of blood beneath the dura.

Subdural hematoma: Bleeding into the space between the dura (the brain cover) and the brain itself. This space is called the subdural space. If the hematoma puts increased pressure on the brain, neurological abnormalities including slurred speech, impaired gait, and dizziness may result and progress to coma and even death.
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Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Suture: 1. A type of joint between the bones of the skull where the bones are held tightly together by fibrous tissue. 2. Thread-like material used to sew tissue together. 3. To stitch a wound closed.

The word suture came with little change from the Latin sutura, "a sewn seam." In Latin, the verb suere is "to sew, stitch, or tack together."

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. Anxiety, lower back pain, and fatigue are all symptoms. They are sensations only the patient can perceive. In contrast, a sign is objective evidence of disease. A bloody nose is a sign. It is evident to the patient, doctor, nurse and other observers.

Tear: A drop of the salty secretion of the lacrimal glands which serves to moisten the conjunctiva and cornea.

Temporal: 1. Pertaining to time, limited in time, temporary, or transient.
2. Pertaining to the temple region of the head. The temporal lobe of the brain is located beneath the temple.
From the Latin tempus which means both time and the temple of the head.

Temporal bone: A large irregular bone situated at the base and side of the skull. The temporal bone is connected with the mandible (the jaw bone) via the temporomandibular (TM) joint.
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Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or section through a three-dimensional object. Tomography achieves this remarkable result by simply moving an x-ray source in one direction as the x-ray film is moved in the opposite direction during the exposure to sharpen structures in the focal plane, while structures in other planes appear blurred. The tomogram is the picture; the tomograph is the apparatus; and tomography is the process.
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Trauma: Any injury, whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock. This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. In psychiatry, "trauma" has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.
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Traumatic brain injury: Brain damage from trauma. The three leading causes of death from traumatic brain injury relate to firearms, motor vehicles and falls. The leading causes of death differ by age group. Motor vehicles are the leading cause among youth from birth to 19 years of age. Firearms are the leading cause of death among persons aged 20 to 74 years. Falls are the leading cause of death among persons aged 75 and older.

Unconscious: 1. Interruption of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings, lack of the ability to notice or respond to stimuli in the environment. A person may become unconscious due to oxygen deprivation, shock, central nervous system depressants such as alcohol and drugs, or injury.
2. In psychology, that part of thought and emotion that happens outside everyday awareness.

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids: blood vessels or lymph vessels.

Warfarin: An anticoagulant drug (brand names: Coumarin, Panwarfin, Sofarin) taken to prevent the blood from clotting and to treat blood clots and overly thick blood. Warfarin is also used to reduce the risk of clots causing strokes or heart attacks.
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X-ray: 1. High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-rays possess the properties of penetrating most substances (to varying extents), of acting on a photographic film or plate (permitting radiography), and of causing a fluorescent screen to give off light (permitting fluoroscopy). In low doses X-rays are used for making images that help to diagnose disease, and in high doses to treat cancer. Formerly called a Roentgen ray. 2. An image obtained by means of X-rays.