FREQUENTLY USED TERMS WHEN DISCUSSING BRAIN INJURY:
When talking with professionals in brain injury rehabilitation facilities, with neurologists, neurosurgeons and neuropsychologists,, the following terms are frequently used in discussing the various aspects of brain injury and brain damage as well as the treatment plan for a person with a traumatic brain injury.
Often family members are at a loss to understand all that is being said to them by professionals. The best thing to do is be up front and ask a member of the health care team to explain the terms that you do not understand.
Activities of Daily Living (ADL): Routine activities of personal hygiene and health (including bathing, dressing, feeding). Also called Self-Help Skills.
Amnesia: Not being able to remember; forgetful.
Anosmia: Loss of the sense of smell.
Anoxia: A lack of oxygen. Brain cells need oxygen to exist. When blood flow to the brain is reduced or when oxygen in the blood is low, brain cells are damaged. Often caused by near drowning events.
Antibiotics: Used to treat a variety of infections which often occur in unconscious patients. Pneumonia and urinary tract infections are most common. Patients may also be placed on antibiotics to help prevent possible infections.
Anticoagulants: Medications, such as heparin or coumadin, utilized to slow down normal blood clotting and prevent blood clots from forming.
Anticonvulsants: Anti-seizure medications that help prevent the temporary seizures or convulsions which occur during abnormal electrical brain activity.
Antidepressants: Depression and feelings of low self-worth are common after brain injury. These medications help the patient deal with these negative feelings.
Antipsychotics: Brain injury is often accompanied by anxiety, personality change, and aggressiveness. These medications add a calming influence and prevent mood swings.
Aphasia: Unable to speak or understand words.
Ataxia: Poor balance and coordination.
Attention: The ability to focus or respond to a task for a normal amount of time.
Beta receptor blockers: A group of medications used to block the nerves in certain areas of the brain, to reduce agitation, rapid heart beat, elevated blood pressure, and tremors.
Brain scan: An imaging technique in which a radioactive liquid is injected into the blood stream so that pictures of the brain can reveal tumors, blood clots, hemorrhages, or abnormal anatomy.
Brain injury: Damage to living brain tissue caused by external mechanical force or nontraumatic causes such as tumors, strokes, infections, or other biological events.
Brainstem: The lower portion of the brain, which connects it to the spinal cord. The brainstem controls the body's most important functions, such as breathing, blood pressure, heart rate and sleeping.
Catheter: A flexible plastic tube of varying sizes utilized for withdrawing fluids from or introducing fluids into a cavity of the body. This tubing is also used in specialized medical procedures.
Cerebellum: The area in the back of the brain which helps control balance and fine motor movements (moving fingers).
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF): The liquid made by the brain that fills the ventricles (cavities) in the brain and surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Closed head injury: Trauma to the head that does not penetrate or fracture the skull, but damages the brain.
Cognition: The conscious process of the mind by which we are aware of thoughts and perception, including all aspects of perceiving, thinking, understanding and remembering.
Coma: A state of unresponsiveness where the person cannot be aroused and/or does not respond. The coma may be for a brief period of time or last several hours to weeks.
Concussion: A blow or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal functions of the brain; often described as a mild traumatic brain injury. After a concussion, some people lose consciousness for a short time, but not always. You can have a brain injury without losing consciousness.
Cortex (cerebrum): The largest part of the brain. It contains two cerebral hemispheres where most thinking and cognitive functioning takes place.
Craniotomy: A surgical opening through the skull.
CT scan/Computerized tomography: A series of computerized X rays of the brain at various levels to reveal its structure. This procedure shows the more obvious changes such as a hematoma.
Decadron (Dexamethasone) steroids: A medication which appears to help improve function of the brain. It also decreases brain swelling and excessive water accumulating in the brain.
Didronel (Etidrovate Disodium): Given to patients who demonstrate a tendency to form calcium deposits and abnormal bone formation around joints and in injured soft tissues.
Decubitus: A bed sore or discolored, open area of skin damaged by pressure. Common areas to this breakdown of skin include buttocks, hips, shoulder areas, ankles, heels, and elbows.
Deficit: A lacking or deficiency in the amount or quality of functioning.
Diffuse brain injury: Brain damage which covers many areas of the brain; common in closed head injuries due to the brain moving about inside the skull.
Diplopia: Double vision; the perception of two images of a single object.
Disinhibition: Not able to control impulses and emotions.
Disorientation: Difficulty recognizing people, a place, day of the week, or the time of day.
Dura: The outermost tissue covering of the brain.
EEG/Electroencephalogram: Recording electrical activity of the brain by positioning electrodes on the scalp or on in the brain itself.
ECG/EKG electrocardiogram: Monitoring heart rate and rhythm by positioning electrode pads on the patient's chest, which are connected to a monitor.
Edema: Collection of fluid (water) causing tissue swelling.
Emotional lability: Strong mood swings that happen suddenly or without a clear reason.
Evacuation of hematoma: A surgical procedure to remove a collection of blood from the brain.
Eye tape: Tape used to close the eyes of a patient who is unable to blink. Blinking is important to keep the eyes moist. This natural reflex is lost in patients who are unresponsive but have open eyes. Eye drops may be utilized and the eye tape would be used to keep them closed.
Focal brain injury: Damage that is in one area of the brain.
Frontal lobe: The area of the brain located at the front of the skull behind the forehead. This area plays a role in controlling emotions and impulses, motivation, social skills, and expressive language.
Glasgow coma scale: A scale from 3 (no responding) to 15 (fully alert) that indicates how severe the brain injury is. This scale rates someone's level of consciousness using three factors: motor (muscle) responses, eye opening, and verbal responses.
Halo: A metal ring used for patients with upper spinal cord injuries which surrounds or encircles the patient's head, allowing for proper alignment of the neck and spinal column. In order to prevent further injury to the spinal cord it is important that the patient with a broken spine remain still.
Hematoma: Collection of blood in tissues or space caused by broken blood vessels.
Epidural hematoma: Bleeding between the skull and the dura (the outermost tissue covering of the brain).
Intracerebral hematoma: Bleeding into the brain itself. This often happens following bruising or tearing of the brain tissue.
Subarachnoid hematoma: Bleeding around the surfaces of the brain between the dura and arachnoid membranes.
Subdural hematoma: Bleeding into the space between the dura and the brain. This creates pressure on the brain.
Hemiparesis: Weakness on one side of the body due to injury to the motor areas of the brain.
Hemorrhage: Bleeding following traumatic injury; bleeding may occur within the brain when blood vessels in the skull or the brain are damaged.
Hospice: Home health care choice when recovery is not possible, focusing on care, not cure, including pain and symptom management and emotional support.
Hydrocephalus: When too much cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) is collected in the ventricles, putting pressure on the brain.
IV (intravenous): This is a method of delivering fluids directly into the bloodstream through a needle in a vein.
Jejunostomy tube (J-tube): A type of feeding tube surgically inserted into the small intestine.
Laxatives: These stool softeners are used along with a carefully supervised dietary program to promote bowel regularity, which is frequently affected because of nervous system damage and long periods of inactivity in bed.
MRI/Magnetic resonance imaging: A diagnostic procedure that uses magnetic fields to create pictures of the brain's soft tissue. MRI can provide a more detailed picture than the CT scan.
Memory: The process of organizing and storing information, and then being able to recall these things at a later time.
Muscle relaxants: Brain-injured individuals often lose the ability to regulate the forces of muscle fibers resulting in spasticity and pain. These drugs relax the muscles for greater comfort, to ease therapy, and to prevent spasticity.
Orthosis: Splint or brace used to support, align, and improve function of movable parts of the body.
Persistent vegetative state: A condition in which the patient is unable to speak or follow simple commands and does not respond in any psychologically meaningful way. The transition from coma to a vegetative condition reflects changes from a period of no response to the internal environment, other than reflexively, to a state of wakefulness but with no indication of awareness. Normal levels of blood pressure and respiration are automatically maintained.
Plateau: A temporary or more permanent leveling off in the recovery or rehabilitation process.
RT/Random movement: An action of moving without obvious reason or purpose.
Rancho Los Amigos Cognitive Scale: An assessment tool used in rehabilitation to describe the behavioral stages of an individual with a brain injury.
Range of motion: An exercise in movement to the joint, so to prevent contractures.
Respirator: (see ventilator)
Retrograde amnesia: Memory loss of events and periods of time before an injury or accident.
Scanning: An active, usually visual search of the environment for information. Used in reading, driving, and other daily activities.
Seizure: An uncontrolled discharge of nerve cells which may spread to other cells throughout the brain. The sudden attack is usually momentary, but may be accompanied by loss of bowel and bladder control, tremors, and/or aggressiveness.
Self-help skills: Routine activities of personal hygiene and health (including bathing, dressing, feeding). Also called ADLs.
Sensory integration: Interaction of two or more sensory processes in a way which enhances the adaptiveness of the brain.
Sensory stimulation: Arousing the brain through any of the senses.
Sequencing: Contracting muscles in an orderly and meaningful manner or reading, listening, and expressing thoughts.
Shearing injury: The tearing of the brain tissue and blood vessels caused by movement of the brain tissue within the skull or against the skull's sharp, bony edges.
Shunt: A procedure for removing excess fluid in the brain. A surgically placed tube connected from the ventricles, deposits fluids into the abdominal cavity, heart, or large veins of the neck.
Temporal lobe: The lower middle part of each side of the brain used in processing sounds; involved in memory.
Ventricles: Four cavities in the brain which are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. These filled spaces act as cushions when the brain is hit.
Ventilator: Equipment that does the breathing for the unresponsive patient. The machinery serves to deliver air in the appropriate percentage of oxygen and at the appropriate rate.
Ventriculostomy: An opening through the skull into the ventricles; special equipment to monitor pressure inside the skull or to drain cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), special equipment is used to place a small tube into the ventricles through the surgically made opening in the skull.
Ventriculo-peritoneal shunt (VP shunt): A surgical procedure that places a tube connecting a ventricle (cavity in the brain) to the peritoneum (space in the abdomen); peritoneum, to prevent unnecessary pressure to build in the brain, the CSF is absorbed into the body.
Visual field deficit: Not being able to see anything in a specific area of vision.
Visual perception: The ability to understand, explain, and give meaning to what is seen.
