Neuroglossary
Terms used in brain injury, spinal cord injury and other neurotrauma treatment and rehabilitation
ultra- - Combining form indicating beyond, on the other side of, beyond the range, scope or limit of, the normal or proper degree of; excessively.
ultrasound - Physical therapy used in, controlled doses, to selectively break down pathologic tissues, as in treatment of arthritis and lesions of the nervous system; a noninvasive exploratory technique that sends pulses of ultrahigh-frequency sound waves into designated body cavities.
umbilical cord - Encompasses two arteries that carry carbon dioxide and nitrogen wastes from the fetus to the placenta. It has one vein that also carries oxygen and nutrients from the placenta to the embryo, or fetus.
uncinate process, uncus - Bony excrescences placed laterally or posterolaterally on C3 through C7, and which form a defensive rampart of bone, preventing disc herniation in this area. The uncinate processes are of great significance in the cervical spine, because they act as barrirs to the extrusion of disc material posterolaterally, preventing compression of the nerve roots.
unconscious - A term which has two possible interpretations: (a) as synonymous with a totally diminished awareness of the external world, as in stuporor coma, or (b) as a psychological term for those forces and drives which are not normally available to the person's awareness due to the forces of repression.
