Introduction and Clinical Manifestations The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS), with the brain coordinating higher-level functions and the spinal cord relaying information from and to the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is contained within the dorsal cavity, with the brain protected by the skull and the spinal cord protected by the vertebrae. Despite this, injuries to the CNS are a global health problem because of the inability of central neurons to regenerate, unlike peripheral neurons. Injury to the CNS is initiated by mechanical impact, but the resulting cellular processes and biochemical events contribute significantly to the pathophysiology. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and traumatic spinal cord …show more content…
To determine the level of injury, SCI is further divided by location of the injury by the vertebra closest to the injury: cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral. Injury to the cervical area usually leads to partial or full paralysis, loss of breathing, loss of function at biceps, shoulders, wrists, and/or hands. Complete injuries at the thoracic level cause paralysis and inability to control abdominal muscles with functions of the upper limbs unaffected. Injuries to the lumbosacral region lead to reduced control of the legs, hips, urinary system, and anus. Clinical Incidence and Epidemiology In the United States alone approximately 273,000 people are estimated to have SCIs, with over 12,000 new cases reported each year. SCI primarily affects young adults between the ages of 16 and 30. Overall, 80.7% of the injuries reported have occurred in males with a slight trend toward a decreasing percentage of males. Of SCI individuals with paraplegia or tetraplegia, less than 1% achieve complete neurological recovery post treatment. Over the last 20 years, the percentage of persons with incomplete tetraplegia has increased. Patients with SCI experience decreased lifespan and life-costs from 1 to 4 million dollars, depending on the severity of injury. Life expectancies for patients with SCI have not improved since the 1980s with the leading cause of death being renal failure in the past years. CNS injuries are devastating for the patients and their families, especially when
Nerves from each segment of the spinal cord connect to specific regions of the body. The cervical region or neck are referred to as C1 through C8; they control signals to the neck, arms, and hands. The segments in thoracic or upper back region T1 through T12 relay signals to the torso and some parts of the arms. The segments in the upper lumbar or mid-back region just below the ribs, L1 through L5, control signals to the hips and legs. Last, the sacral segments S1 through S5 lie just below the lumbar segments in the mid-back and control signals to the groin, toes, and some parts of the legs. The effects of spinal cord injury at different segments reflect this organization.(SC-Basic Anatomy of Spine-http://www.goes.com/billr/html/_anatomy_of_a_spinal_cord.html)
This essay is not intended to criticize any emergency medical or hospital staff. I am writing this essay out of concern for patients who come into the emergency room that may have a jeopardized spinal cord resulting from an injury or suspected injury to their cervical spine. I am a certified emergency medical technician, farm-medic instructor and currently a medical diagnostic student doing clinicial's. In the United States each year there are approximately 10,000 reported cervical spine injuries that come into emergency rooms. Motor vehicle accidents account for approximately 45%, falls approximately 30%, the remaining 25% from sports and miscellaneous. Although only a small amount of
After researching about paraplegic and quadriplegic, it has been determined how they occur and in what parts of the body they affect. According to John Hopkins Medical, if a person suffers with paraplegic or quadriplegic, it is caused by damage to the spinal cord. To determine whether a person has a spinal injury, doctors will use clinical signs to help determine the severity of the injury. When the spinal cord has been injured, the patient might feel pain, and some disorders; such as motor or sensory. When this occurs, it allows the doctor to determine the cause of the injury, however; most spinal injuries are caused by traumatic accidents. The two
It is amazing to me how people’s brains are so small compared to the whole body, yet it is an exceedingly complex organ that deals with so many mental and physical functions that help regulate our body. The brain is one of our main sources of operation, and so when a person’s brain is harmed or damaged in any way, there can be major consequences for that individual. One detrimental brain injury that has recently been heavily researched and talked is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a progressive degenerative disease in the brain (Comer, 2014). More light has been showed on CTE in order to raise more awareness and seek solutions in helping prevent and fix the disease. In the following paragraphs, I will explain more in detail about CTE, specifically the causes, symptoms and outcomes, and the importance of being aware of CTE.
The central nervous system is what connects the brain to the muscles of the body. When a patient has an injury to the spinal cord, movements in certain parts of the body will be affected based on the location of the injury. If the injury affects hand motion then many day to day tasks are affected. This literature review seeks to understand how an injury to the spinal cord impacts movement, and what has been done so far to help those affected by spinal cord injuries.
Five criteria must be met which includes authority, information, objectivity, ease of navigation and privacy and security policies. The website used for my research was www.christopherreeve.org. The website met the five criteria. Authority was displayed in several ways. The author, Judith Lubinsky is qualified as an expert in the spinal cord injury field. Judith is responsible for web production and social media for the website. The contact information and credentials for the author was clearly stated. Information is updated daily to keep readers informed of any changes. The information posted is accurate and appropriate for the intended audience. The author provides an unbiased comprehensive review of spinal cord injuries and management. The sponsor for the website is The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The source of funding does not have an impact on the information provided. The website provides easy navigation with reliable information, treatment options, clinical trials and ways to get involved. The website provided clear privacy and security
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when there is a damage in the brain a result of physical trauma. TBI may be caused by a penetrating (open) head injury, in which an object pierces the skull and enters the brain tissue, or a closed head injury, in which the skull is not breached, and frequently results in the major long-term disability of individuals surviving head injuries.(7) Cranial firearm wounds often result in severe injury to the brain and related central nervous system (CNS) structures.(17). Although penetrating head trauma is less prevalent than closed head trauma, PBI carries a worse prognosis with high morbidity and mortality rates. Understanding of the mechanisms of injury and aggressive medical management with rapid surgical intervention may lead to improved outcomes.(8)
For example, harming the C1-C8 section which are on the Cervical level will cause the most severe damage. Most of these patients will be almost fully paralyzed, their ability to walk, breathe, move their arms, and at times even talk will be out of their control. They will need a self powered wheelchair, respiratory machines that will allow them to breathe, and a caregiver with them at all times to help with household activities, getting in and out of bed, showering, dressing, and more. The spinal cord injury occurs when a traumatic blow damages the bone fragments and therefore loses communication from the injury and below. Harm in or on the bones, disc material, ligaments, and spinal cord tissue could wind up as a spinal cord injury. There are complete and incomplete injuries. Complete injuries usually means that the patient is completely paralyzed, while in incomplete injuries there is still some or lots of communication in the
The central nervous system is responsible for controlling involuntary actions such as respiratory rhythm and blinking as well as voluntary actions such as muscular movements like walking. The central nervous system is composed of neurons that send and receive chemical messages through the transmittance of neurotransmitters. The spinal cord connects the brain to the body and when the spinal cord is damaged it loses its function to communicate messages from the brain throughout the body. Depending on the location and severity of the injury different symptoms and pathologies occur. There are different ways in which the spinal cord can be injured. It is protected by the spinal column, which is also called the backbone or spine. The spinal column is composed of a chain of bones called vertebrae, which are interconnected by flexible ligaments and spinal discs. However, if the spinal cord in injured and it starts to swell it starts to create pressure because the spinal column is surrounding it. Fractured bones of the spinal column or herniated discs can also cause damage to the spinal cord. The most common type of injury to the spinal cord is spinal cord compression when it is compressed due to a force on the spinal column. All of these different types of injuries lead to cell degeneration and death of the different types of cells in the spinal cord (Badner et al.
The nervous system is associated to many neurological diseases including strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, sleep disorders, and spinal cord injuries. Spinal cord injuries arise to be extremely common, in fact, each year in the United States there are ten thousand new spinal cord injuries alone (Spinal Cord Injury). The spinal cord is an immensely fragile part of the body, it contains a bundle of nerve fibers that connect the brain to the rest of the body. Since the spinal cord is exceptionally fragile it has to be protected by something hard, like the vertebral column. The brain, spinal cord, and the vertebrae is considered the central nervous system, whereas, the peripheral nervous system is formed when the nerves that enter and exit the spinal cord (Boyce). When the spinal cord, brain, or vertebral column becomes damaged, the individual has a higher risk of developing paralysis. Since the nervous system contains all three parts of the nervous system, paralysis is diagnosed as a neurological injury.
Every behavior begins with biology. Our behaviors, as well as our thoughts and feelings, are produced by the actions of our brains, nerves, muscles, and glands. In this chapter we will begin our journey into the world of psychology by considering the biological makeup of the human being, including the most remarkable of human organs—the brain. We’ll consider the structure of the brain and also the methods that psychologists use to study the brain and to understand how it works.
The term “traumatic brain injury” (TBI) refers to a brain injury caused by trauma rather than disease, vascular accidents, or alcohol. Incidences of Traumatic Brain Injury have had a significant surge as they are more recognized by the medical profession. Occurring in many different ways; falls, sports, clumsiness, car accidents, tumors, surgery, mentality, etc, TBI is “...the most common form of brain injury in the modern Western world predominantly affecting young adults, many of whom suffer
Spinal cord injury is a serious problem that effects close to 250,000 people in the United States with 10,000 people being injured per year . There are many things that can lead to spinal cord injury, including athletic injuries, car accidents, and recreational activities like swimming and biking. It primarily effects those between the ages of 16 and 30 and drastically effects the rest of their lives. It is a very debilitating injury that requires extensive medical care, often leaves the patients in a great deal of pain for the rest of their lives(2), and the treatment of which costs $10 billion dollars a year in the US.(facts from site 1) With all of these factors spurring research on there is a strong drive to
1.What are the 2 main divisions of the nervous system and the basic structures that make
The scale is broken up into classifications A, B, C, D, and E. Classification “A” represents the most severe impairment indicating a complete lesion with no signs of sensory or motor function in the sacral segments. Classification “B” represents an incomplete lesion. Some sensory function is present but motor function is lost below the neurological level. Classification “C” represents an incomplete lesion. Motor function is present in this classification and more than half of the muscles below the point of injury have a muscle grade less than 3. Classification “D” represents an incomplete lesion, motor function is present, and at least half the muscles below the point of injury have a muscle grade of 3 or greater. Classification “E” represents the best outcome and indicates that all sensory and motor functions are intact (p.