Neuroglossary
Terms used in brain injury, spinal cord injury and other neurotrauma treatment and rehabilitation
obturator nerve - General sensory and motor nerve that originates in the lumbar plexus, L3-L4. Its branches are the anterior, posterior, and muscular rami. It distributes in the adductor muscles and the gracilis muscle, the skin of medial part of the thigh and hip and knee joints.
occipital - Pertaining to the occiput; located near the occipital bone, as the occipital lobe.
occipital bone - Single trapezoidal-shaped bone situated at the back and lower part of the cranium. It is one of the skull bones.
occipital condyle - One of two oval processes on the lateral portions of the occipital bone, on either side of the foramen magnum, for articulation with the atlas.
occipital foramen - Foramen magnum. The large opening in the anterior and inferior part of the occipital bone, interconnecting the vertebral canal and the cranial cavity.
occipital lobe - Posterior area of the cerebrum. The primary visual area. Receives, interprets, and recognizes visual stimuli.
occipito-atlanto-axial complex - The top of the neck, or the upper cervical spine.
occiput - The back part of the head; called also o. cranii and o. of cranium.
oculomotor nerve - Cranial Nerve III. The motor nerve moving in the eyelid, constricting the iris, and moving the eye by its intrinsic muscles.
Odontoid process of axis - See dens axis.
-oid - Word termination signifying resemblance to the thing specified by the stem, to which it is affixed, as ovoid.
olfactory nerve - Cranial Nerve I. Conducts sensation of smell from nerve endings in nasal mucous membrane to olfactory bulbs on the undersurface of the frontal lobe.
oligo- - Combining form meaning few, little, or scanty.
oligodendrocytes - See oligodendroglia.
oligodendroglia - Nonneural cells of ectodermal original forming part of the outermost structure (neuroglia) of the central nervous system. Projections of the surface membrane of each of these cells (oligodendrocytes) fan out and coil around the axon of many neurons to form myelin sheaths in the white matter. With microglia, they form the perineuronal satellites in the gray matter. Oligodendroglia is the tissue composed of such cells.
olisthesis - Slippage that occurs with spondylolisthesis.
oogenesis - Process of forming female gametes (ova).
opisthion - Midpoint of the lower border of the foramen magnum.
optic nerve - Cranial Nerve II. Conducts visual impulses from rods and cones in the retina to visual cortex of occipital lobe.
organelle - Minute organ of protozoa concerned with locomotion, metabolism, or the like.
organogenesis - The origin and development of organs.
ortho- - Combining form meaning straight, normal, correct, etc.
orthosis - Orthopedic apparatus or appliance used to support, align, prevent, or correct deformities or to improve the function of movable parts of the body.
orthotic - Serving to protect or to restore or improve function; pertaining to th use or application of orthoses.
os - General term for a specific type of bony structure.
-osis - Word termination denoting a process, production, indicating abnormal increase. Example: Spondylosis means formation of bone (osteophyte).
osseous tissue - Bone; a tissue composed of cells embedded in a matrix of ground substance, inorganic salts, and collagenous fibers.
ossification - The conversion of fibrous tissue or cartilage into bone or a bony substance.
ossification center - Where the initial development of bone tissue begins. It starts with a ring of cells forming around a blood vessel.
osteo- - Combining form denoting relationship to bone or the bones.
osteoblasts - Bone cell capable of synthesizing and secreting new bone matrix as needed; usually found on growing portions of bones.
osteochondrosis - Disease of the growth or ossification centers of children, which begins as a degeneration or necrosis followed by regeneration or recalcification.
osteoclasts - Large multinuclear cell associated with the absorption and removal of bone.
osteocytes - An osteoblast that has become embedded in the bone matrix, occupying a flat oval cavity (bone lacuna) and sending, through the canaliculi, slender cytoplasmic processes that make contact with processes of other osteocytes.
osteoid- Bone matrix not yet calcified.
osteomyelitis - Inflammation of bone caused by a pyogenic organism. It may remain localized or may spread through the bone to involve the marrow, cortex, cancellous tissue, and periosteum.
osteophytes - Bony excrescence or osseous outgrowth that curves around the disc. It comes with age and degeneration of the disc; also called a ﾓhard disc.ﾔ
osteoporosis - When both the organic and inorganic components of bone decrease, and there is a reduction in the quantity of bone or atrophy of skeletal tissue, causing them to lose their elasticity and fracture easily. Fractures of the neck of the femur (hip fractures) and vertebral bodies of the spine are common in the elderly.
