Spinal Cord Injuries
Penetrating and non-penetrating injuries to the spinal cord resulting from traumatic external forces (e.g., WOUNDS, GUNSHOT; WHIPLASH INJURIES; etc.).
Spinal Cord
Paraplegia
Severe or complete loss of motor function in the lower extremities and lower portions of the trunk. This condition is most often associated with SPINAL CORD DISEASES, although BRAIN DISEASES; PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES; NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES; and MUSCULAR DISEASES may also cause bilateral leg weakness.
Quadriplegia
Severe or complete loss of motor function in all four limbs which may result from BRAIN DISEASES; SPINAL CORD DISEASES; PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES; NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES; or rarely MUSCULAR DISEASES. The locked-in syndrome is characterized by quadriplegia in combination with cranial muscle paralysis. Consciousness is spared and the only retained voluntary motor activity may be limited eye movements. This condition is usually caused by a lesion in the upper BRAIN STEM which injures the descending cortico-spinal and cortico-bulbar tracts.
Cervical Vertebrae
Wounds and Injuries
Thoracic Vertebrae
Longitudinal Ligaments
Two extensive fibrous bands running the length of the vertebral column. The anterior longitudinal ligament (ligamentum longitudinale anterius; lacertus medius) interconnects the anterior surfaces of the vertebral bodies; the posterior longitudinal ligament (ligamentum longitudinale posterius) interconnects the posterior surfaces. The commonest clinical consideration is OSSIFICATION OF POSTERIOR LONGITUDINAL LIGAMENT. (From Stedman, 25th ed)
Injury Severity Score
An anatomic severity scale based on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and developed specifically to score multiple traumatic injuries. It has been used as a predictor of mortality.
Brain Injuries
Acute and chronic (see also BRAIN INJURIES, CHRONIC) injuries to the brain, including the cerebral hemispheres, CEREBELLUM, and BRAIN STEM. Clinical manifestations depend on the nature of injury. Diffuse trauma to the brain is frequently associated with DIFFUSE AXONAL INJURY or COMA, POST-TRAUMATIC. Localized injuries may be associated with NEUROBEHAVIORAL MANIFESTATIONS; HEMIPARESIS, or other focal neurologic deficits.
Spinal Cord Diseases
Pathologic conditions which feature SPINAL CORD damage or dysfunction, including disorders involving the meninges and perimeningeal spaces surrounding the spinal cord. Traumatic injuries, vascular diseases, infections, and inflammatory/autoimmune processes may affect the spinal cord.
Spinal Cord Compression
Acute and chronic conditions characterized by external mechanical compression of the SPINAL CORD due to extramedullary neoplasm; EPIDURAL ABSCESS; SPINAL FRACTURES; bony deformities of the vertebral bodies; and other conditions. Clinical manifestations vary with the anatomic site of the lesion and may include localized pain, weakness, sensory loss, incontinence, and impotence.
Football
A competitive team sport played on a rectangular field. This is the American or Canadian version of the game and also includes the form known as rugby. It does not include non-North American football (= SOCCER).
Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic
Dysfunction of the URINARY BLADDER due to disease of the central or peripheral nervous system pathways involved in the control of URINATION. This is often associated with SPINAL CORD DISEASES, but may also be caused by BRAIN DISEASES or PERIPHERAL NERVE DISEASES.
Recovery of Function
Lumbar Vertebrae
VERTEBRAE in the region of the lower BACK below the THORACIC VERTEBRAE and above the SACRAL VERTEBRAE.
Paralysis
Reperfusion Injury
Adverse functional, metabolic, or structural changes in ischemic tissues resulting from the restoration of blood flow to the tissue (REPERFUSION), including swelling; HEMORRHAGE; NECROSIS; and damage from FREE RADICALS. The most common instance is MYOCARDIAL REPERFUSION INJURY.
Injections, Spinal
Red Cross
Earthquakes
Sudden slips on a fault, and the resulting ground shaking and radiated seismic energy caused by the slips, or by volcanic or magmatic activity, or other sudden stress changes in the earth. Faults are fractures along which the blocks of EARTH crust on either side have moved relative to one another parallel to the fracture.
Dislocations
Spinal Nerves
The 31 paired peripheral nerves formed by the union of the dorsal and ventral spinal roots from each spinal cord segment. The spinal nerve plexuses and the spinal roots are also included.
Laminectomy
A surgical procedure that entails removing all (laminectomy) or part (laminotomy) of selected vertebral lamina to relieve pressure on the SPINAL CORD and/or SPINAL NERVE ROOTS. Vertebral lamina is the thin flattened posterior wall of vertebral arch that forms the vertebral foramen through which pass the spinal cord and nerve roots.
Pressure Ulcer
Gymnastics
Systematic physical exercise. This includes calisthenics, a system of light gymnastics for promoting strength and grace of carriage.
Spinal Cord Regeneration
Anesthesia, Spinal
Procedure in which an anesthetic is injected directly into the spinal cord.
Accidents, Traffic
Spinal Nerve Roots
Paired bundles of NERVE FIBERS entering and leaving the SPINAL CORD at each segment. The dorsal and ventral nerve roots join to form the mixed segmental spinal nerves. The dorsal roots are generally afferent, formed by the central projections of the spinal (dorsal root) ganglia sensory cells, and the ventral roots are efferent, comprising the axons of spinal motor and PREGANGLIONIC AUTONOMIC FIBERS.
Phrenic Nerve
The motor nerve of the diaphragm. The phrenic nerve fibers originate in the cervical spinal column (mostly C4) and travel through the cervical plexus to the diaphragm.
Spinal Canal
The cavity within the SPINAL COLUMN through which the SPINAL CORD passes.
Stellate Ganglion
Spinal Cord Neoplasms
Benign and malignant neoplasms which occur within the substance of the spinal cord (intramedullary neoplasms) or in the space between the dura and spinal cord (intradural extramedullary neoplasms). The majority of intramedullary spinal tumors are primary CNS neoplasms including ASTROCYTOMA; EPENDYMOMA; and LIPOMA. Intramedullary neoplasms are often associated with SYRINGOMYELIA. The most frequent histologic types of intradural-extramedullary tumors are MENINGIOMA and NEUROFIBROMA.
Syringomyelia
Longitudinal cavities in the spinal cord, most often in the cervical region, which may extend for multiple spinal levels. The cavities are lined by dense, gliogenous tissue and may be associated with SPINAL CORD NEOPLASMS; spinal cord traumatic injuries; and vascular malformations. Syringomyelia is marked clinically by pain and PARESTHESIA, muscular atrophy of the hands, and analgesia with thermoanesthesia of the hands and arms, but with the tactile sense preserved (sensory dissociation). Lower extremity spasticity and incontinence may also develop. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1269)
Spinal Diseases
Locomotion
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Spinal Neoplasms
Spinal neoplasms are abnormal growths or tumors that develop within the spinal column, which can be benign or malignant, and originate from cells within the spinal structure or spread to the spine from other parts of the body (metastatic).
Lung Injury
Spinal Stenosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal.
Traction
The pull on a limb or a part thereof. Skin traction (indirect traction) is applied by using a bandage to pull on the skin and fascia where light traction is required. Skeletal traction (direct traction), however, uses pins or wires inserted through bone and is attached to weights, pulleys, and ropes. (From Blauvelt & Nelson, A Manual of Orthopaedic Terminology, 5th ed)
Spinal Fusion
Operative immobilization or ankylosis of two or more vertebrae by fusion of the vertebral bodies with a short bone graft or often with diskectomy or laminectomy. (From Blauvelt & Nelson, A Manual of Orthopaedic Terminology, 5th ed, p236; Dorland, 28th ed)
Retrospective Studies
Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.
Electric Stimulation Therapy
Application of electric current in treatment without the generation of perceptible heat. It includes electric stimulation of nerves or muscles, passage of current into the body, or use of interrupted current of low intensity to raise the threshold of the skin to pain.
Disasters
Eye Injuries
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neck Injuries
Acute Lung Injury
A condition of lung damage that is characterized by bilateral pulmonary infiltrates (PULMONARY EDEMA) rich in NEUTROPHILS, and in the absence of clinical HEART FAILURE. This can represent a spectrum of pulmonary lesions, endothelial and epithelial, due to numerous factors (physical, chemical, or biological).
Electromyography
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Neurologic Examination
Muscular Atrophy, Spinal
A group of disorders marked by progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord resulting in weakness and muscular atrophy, usually without evidence of injury to the corticospinal tracts. Diseases in this category include Werdnig-Hoffmann disease and later onset SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHIES OF CHILDHOOD, most of which are hereditary. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1089)
Ganglia, Spinal
Sensory ganglia located on the dorsal spinal roots within the vertebral column. The spinal ganglion cells are pseudounipolar. The single primary branch bifurcates sending a peripheral process to carry sensory information from the periphery and a central branch which relays that information to the spinal cord or brain.
Acute Kidney Injury
Abrupt reduction in kidney function. Acute kidney injury encompasses the entire spectrum of the syndrome including acute kidney failure; ACUTE KIDNEY TUBULAR NECROSIS; and other less severe conditions.
Spinal Cord Ischemia
Reduced blood flow to the spinal cord which is supplied by the anterior spinal artery and the paired posterior spinal arteries. This condition may be associated with ARTERIOSCLEROSIS, trauma, emboli, diseases of the aorta, and other disorders. Prolonged ischemia may lead to INFARCTION of spinal cord tissue.
Blast Injuries
Treatment Outcome
Disease Models, Animal
Neuronal Plasticity
Abbreviated Injury Scale
Classification system for assessing impact injury severity developed and published by the American Association for Automotive Medicine. It is the system of choice for coding single injuries and is the foundation for methods assessing multiple injuries or for assessing cumulative effects of more than one injury. These include Maximum AIS (MAIS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and Probability of Death Score (PODS).
Movement
The act, process, or result of passing from one place or position to another. It differs from LOCOMOTION in that locomotion is restricted to the passing of the whole body from one place to another, while movement encompasses both locomotion but also a change of the position of the whole body or any of its parts. Movement may be used with reference to humans, vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and microorganisms. Differentiate also from MOTOR ACTIVITY, movement associated with behavior.
Disability Evaluation
Prospective Studies
Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.
Back Injuries
Tuberculosis, Spinal
Physical Therapy Modalities
Head Injuries, Closed
Traumatic injuries to the cranium where the integrity of the skull is not compromised and no bone fragments or other objects penetrate the skull and dura mater. This frequently results in mechanical injury being transmitted to intracranial structures which may produce traumatic brain injuries, hemorrhage, or cranial nerve injury. (From Rowland, Merritt's Textbook of Neurology, 9th ed, p417)
Soft Tissue Injuries
Injuries of tissue other than bone. The concept is usually general and does not customarily refer to internal organs or viscera. It is meaningful with reference to regions or organs where soft tissue (muscle, fat, skin) should be differentiated from bones or bone tissue, as "soft tissue injuries of the hand".
Myocardial Reperfusion Injury
Craniocerebral Trauma
Diffuse Axonal Injury
A relatively common sequela of blunt head injury, characterized by a global disruption of axons throughout the brain. Associated clinical features may include NEUROBEHAVIORAL MANIFESTATIONS; PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE; DEMENTIA; and other disorders.
Posterior Horn Cells
Neurons in the SPINAL CORD DORSAL HORN whose cell bodies and processes are confined entirely to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. They receive collateral or direct terminations of dorsal root fibers. They send their axons either directly to ANTERIOR HORN CELLS or to the WHITE MATTER ascending and descending longitudinal fibers.
Drug-Induced Liver Injury
Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal
Spinal Curvatures
Deformities of the SPINE characterized by abnormal bending or flexure in the vertebral column. They may be bending forward (KYPHOSIS), backward (LORDOSIS), or sideway (SCOLIOSIS).
Lumbosacral Region
Region of the back including the LUMBAR VERTEBRAE, SACRUM, and nearby structures.
Carotid Artery Injuries
Damages to the CAROTID ARTERIES caused either by blunt force or penetrating trauma, such as CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA; THORACIC INJURIES; and NECK INJURIES. Damaged carotid arteries can lead to CAROTID ARTERY THROMBOSIS; CAROTID-CAVERNOUS SINUS FISTULA; pseudoaneurysm formation; and INTERNAL CAROTID ARTERY DISSECTION. (From Am J Forensic Med Pathol 1997, 18:251; J Trauma 1994, 37:473)
Wounds, Nonpenetrating
Vascular System Injuries
Injuries to blood vessels caused by laceration, contusion, puncture, or crush and other types of injuries. Symptoms vary by site and mode of injuries and may include bleeding, bruising, swelling, pain, and numbness. It does not include injuries secondary to pathologic function or diseases such as ATHEROSCLEROSIS.
Trauma Severity Indices
Chronic Disease
Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)
Follow-Up Studies
Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood
A group of recessively inherited diseases that feature progressive muscular atrophy and hypotonia. They are classified as type I (Werdnig-Hoffman disease), type II (intermediate form), and type III (Kugelberg-Welander disease). Type I is fatal in infancy, type II has a late infantile onset and is associated with survival into the second or third decade. Type III has its onset in childhood, and is slowly progressive. (J Med Genet 1996 Apr:33(4):281-3)
Incidence
Hyperalgesia
An increased sensation of pain or discomfort produced by mimimally noxious stimuli due to damage to soft tissue containing NOCICEPTORS or injury to a peripheral nerve.
Pain
Neuralgia
Intense or aching pain that occurs along the course or distribution of a peripheral or cranial nerve.