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Neuroglossary
Terms used in brain injury, spinal cord injury and other neurotrauma treatment and rehabilitation
eburnation - Condition in which the articular cartilage thins out because of disorganization and fragmentation of the superficial tissue in osteoarthritis as it extends degenerative changes into the deeper part of the cartilage. The subchondral bone becomes exposed, denser, and its surface worn and polished.
echo gradient - Method used for imaging in myelograms, especially in axial views. Because the spinal fluid and the epidural veins give high signal brightness, these images show the foramina and help detect extradural lesions. Echo gradient imaging has ferro (iron) magnetic sensibility and is therefore recommended for injuries that may have old hemorrhages, because old bleeding contains iron.
ecto- - Prefix denoting situated on, without, or on the outside.
-ectomy - Word termination that, when combined within a word concerning an organ of the body, means the organ has been taken out or removed, such as appendectomy (the appendix is out), tonsillectomy (the tonsils are out), laminectomy (the lamina of the vertebra is out).
edema - Swelling of the tissues due to oozing of the serum of blood from the vessels into the extravascular spaces.
effector neuron - The output nerve component of the reflex arc which transmits a reaction to the end of the organ to which the effector neuron connects.
efferent - Motor pathway proceeding from the central nervous system toward the peripheral end organs.
elation - Marked elevation of mood; joyous exaltation, sometimes seen in the manic phase of bipolar disorder.
electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) - Device used to transmit a low-voltage current through the skin, generally to trigger points in a muscle near the junction of nerves and muscle tissue thereby causing the muscle to contract. Used in therapy for muscular pain.
electroencephalogram (EEG) - A device used to measure and record electrophysiologic changes in the surface of, or within the substance of, the brain.
electromyography (EMG) - Procedure in which a monopolar needle electrode is introduced into the muscle to be tested, with a surface electrode acting as the reference. The purpose is to record electrical activities of the muscle fibers.
electronystagmography - A method by which eye movements are recorded and by which the origin of nystagmus may be elucidated.
encroachment - Used when either the normal anatomic volume of the spinal canal or the nerve root opening in the vertebrae is reduced or encroached upon, giving less space for the spinal canal or the nerve roots. Ordinarily, it indicates pressure on the dural sac or the nerve root, due to a degenerative disc and the resulting bony growths such as osteophytes, or by fragmented discs. The word usually describes spinal stenosis.
endochondral ossification - Process by which bone tissue develops by replacing hyaline cartilage.
endosteal - Pertaining to the endosteum or tissue lining the inner core of the bone.
endosteum - Tissue lining the medullary cavity of the bone.
endothelium - The layer of epithelial cells that lines the cavities of the heart, and the blood and lymph vessels, the serous cavities of the body. It originates from the mesoderm.
end plate - The central part of the cartilaginous epiphysis that is formed into a dense, bony end plate on the vertebral surface, and to which is subjected the compressive loads transmitted by the nucleus pulposus.
entheses - Sites of attachment of a muscle or ligament to bone.
environment - The context in which development takes place, including physical properties of stimuli.
environmental feedback loop - Refers to a phenomenon wherein specific environmental influences may influence or alter the process of one or more streams of development. In neurodevelopment this refers to the fact that specific kinds of sensory experience result in specific patterns of synaptic organization in the brain.
ependyma - Lining membrane of the ventricles of the brain and of the central canal of the spinal cord.
ependymal cells - Cells of the neuroglia and the extracellular fluid that are responsible for scar formation in the brain.
epi-, ep- - Prefix denoting on, upon, or over.
epidural - Outside meningeal layers. In head injuries, a hematoma may form between the dura and the skull.
epidural block - In an epidural block, an anesthetic agent is injected into the extradural (epidural) space. It diffuses through the dura and arachnoid, entering the subarachnoid space containing CSF. It acts on the nerve roots and the spinal cord causing loss of sensation below the level of the block. While it is very unlikely to affect the fetus during childbirth, it is effective in preventing pain. Chronic lower backache is also treated with an epidural block.
epidural space - Cavity between the bony and ligamentous walls of the vertebral canal and the dura. Within it there is fat, loose connective tissue, and the front and back vertebral venous plexuses. Also called extradural space. See subdural space.
epilepsy - A neurologic condition originating in disordered and excessive discharge of cerebral neurons. Synonymous with convulsive disorder and seizure disorder. Consciousness is invariably altered in some manner during the seizure.
epimysium - The fibrous sheath about an entire muscle.
epiphysis - Normal outgrowth that is either entirely cartilaginous or separated from the shaft by a disc made of cartilage. They are parts of a bone formed from a secondary center of ossification usually found on the margin of flat bones at projecting bony parts (processes) during the period of growth. Epiphyses are separated from the main portion of the bones by cartilage.
epithelium - Membranous tissue composed of one or more layers of cells separated by very little intercellular substance and forming the covering of most internal and external surfaces of the body and its organs.
equipotentiality - Refers to a hypothetical construct in neuro development which argues that, at very early points in development, all the specific regions of the cortex are sufficiently undifferentiated to permit them equal potential to support the various functions which become localized over time.
esophagus - Musculomembranous passage extending from the pharynx to the stomach.
eu- - Combining form meaning well, easily, or good; the opposite of dys.
euphoria - An abnormal sensation of well-being present even in the presence of distressing circumstances.
evulse - To extract by force.
ex-, ect-, ecto- - Prefix for combining form meaning away from, without, or outside. (Remember the EXIT on theater doors, meaning "out". Any word ending in -ectomy means that the organ is cut out: tonsillectomy, appendectomy, hysterectomy, cholecystectomy, laminectomy, etc.) It is sometimes used to mean completely, as in exacerbation.
exostotis - Benign bony growth projecting outward from the surface of a bone, characteristically capped by cartilage.
extension - Outward movements of body parts away from the center of the body (straightening).
extracellular fluid - The medium through which energy flows when the body uses and exchanges energy with a chemical action of the metabolites in the circulatory system.
extraforaminal - Anatomic space at the side of the side margin of the neural foramen (openings in the vertebrae allowing the passage of nerves through it) in other words, to the side of the plane joining the side margins of two successive pedicles. Extra-spinal and paravertebral are synonymous with extraforaminal. Extraforaminal, being more specific, is recommended rather than the term lateral/far-lateral.
extremities - Appendages of the body such as the upper extremities (shoulders, upper arms, forearms, wrists, hands) and the lower extremities (thighs, legs, ankles, feet).
extrusion - Disc tissue displacement, by which disc material has herniated through a tear in the outer annulus. It has then come into the frontal epidural space, continuing to be connected to the disc it came from by a stemlike part of disc tissue. When there are both spokelike and peripheral tears in the annulus, the displaced tissue may include parts of the annulus fibrosus itself. The posterior longitudinal ligament may have been perforated through by the herniated disc. The herniated material must remain continuous with the disc in order for this term to be correctly used in description. Sometimes sequestered is used to mean extrusion and is found in reports indicating the anatomic boundary overstepped. Examples: Disc herniation extruded through the PLL. Disc material extruded through the annulus/PLL complex.
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