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Clearing The Cervical Spine
Clearing the cervical spine is the process by which medical professionals determine whether cervical spine injuries exist, mainly regarding cervical fracture. It is generally performed in cases of major trauma. This process can take place in the emergency department or in the field by appropriately trained EMS personnel. If the patient is obtunded, i.e. has a head injury with altered sensorium, is intoxicated, or has been given potent analgesics, the cervical spine must remain immobilized until a clinical examination becomes possible. Neurosurgeons or orthopaedic surgeons manage any detected injury. Today, most large centers have spine surgery specialists, that have trained in this field after their orthopedic or neurosurgical residency. History and examination A medical history and physical examination can be sufficient in clearing the cervical spine. Notable clinical prediction rules to determine which patients need medical imaging are the Canadian C-spine rule and the Nati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glasgow Coma Scale
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a clinical scale used to reliably measure a person's level of consciousness after a brain injury. The GCS assesses a person based on their ability to perform eye movements, speak, and move their body. These three behaviours make up the three elements of the scale: eye, verbal, and motor. A person's GCS score can range from 3 (completely unresponsive) to 15 (responsive). This score is used to guide immediate medical care after a brain injury (such as a car accident) and also to monitor hospitalised patients and track their level of consciousness. Lower GCS scores are correlated with higher risk of death. However, the GCS score alone should not be used on its own to predict the outcome for an individual person with brain injury. Scoring The Glasgow Coma Scale is used for people above the age of two and composed of three tests: eye, verbal, and motor responses. The scores for each of these tests are indicated in the table below. The Glasgow Com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posterior (anatomy)
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provides a definition of what is at the front ("anterior"), behind ("posterior") and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and anatomical axes. The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether an organism is bipedal or quadrupedal. Additionally, for some animals such as invertebrates, some terms may not have any meaning at all; for example, an animal that is radially symmetrical will have no anterior surface, but can still have a description that a part is close to the middle ("proximal") or further from the middle ("distal"). International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standard vocabularies for subdisciplines of ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinal Cord Injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cord below the level of the injury. Injury can occur at any level of the spinal cord and can be ''complete'', with a total loss of sensation and muscle function at lower sacral segments, or ''incomplete'', meaning some nervous signals are able to travel past the injured area of the cord up to the Sacral S4-5 spinal cord segments. Depending on the location and severity of damage, the symptoms vary, from numbness to paralysis, including bowel or bladder incontinence. Long term outcomes also range widely, from full recovery to permanent tetraplegia (also called quadriplegia) or paraplegia. Complications can include muscle atrophy, loss of voluntary motor control, spasticity, pressure sores, infections, and breathing problems. In the major ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cervical Fracture
A cervical fracture, commonly called a broken neck, is a fracture of any of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck. Examples of common causes in humans are traffic collisions and diving into shallow water. Abnormal movement of neck bones or pieces of bone can cause a spinal cord injury resulting in loss of sensation, paralysis, or usually instant death. Causes Considerable force is needed to cause a cervical fracture. Vehicle collisions and falls are common causes. A severe, sudden twist to the neck or a severe blow to the head or neck area can cause a cervical fracture. Although high energy trauma is often associated with cervical fractures in the younger population, low energy trauma is more common in the geriatric population. In a study from Norway the most common cause was falls and the relative incidence of CS-fx increased significantly with age. Sports that involve violent physical contact carry a risk of cervical fracture, including American football, association foot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Projectional Radiography
Projectional radiography, also known as conventional radiography, is a form of radiography and medical imaging that produces two-dimensional images by x-ray radiation. The image acquisition is generally performed by radiographers, and the images are often examined by radiologists. Both the procedure and any resultant images are often simply called "X-ray". Plain radiography or roentgenography generally refers to projectional radiography (without the use of more advanced techniques such as computed tomography that can generate 3D-images). ''Plain radiography'' can also refer to radiography without a radiocontrast agent or radiography that generates single static images, as contrasted to fluoroscopy, which are technically also projectional. Equipment X-ray generator Projectional radiographs generally use X-rays created by X-ray generators, which generate X-rays from X-ray tubes. Grid An anti-scatter grid may be placed between the patient and the detector to reduce the quantit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prevertebral Space
The prevertebral space is a space in the neck. On one side it is bounded by the prevertebral fascia. On the other side, some sources define it as bounded by the vertebral bodies, and others define it as bounded by the longus colli. It includes the prevertebral muscles (longus colli and longus capitis), vertebral artery, vertebral vein, scalene muscles, phrenic nerve and part of the brachial plexus The brachial plexus is a network () of nerves formed by the anterior rami of the lower four cervical nerves and first thoracic nerve ( C5, C6, C7, C8, and T1). This plexus extends from the spinal cord, through the cervicoaxillary canal in t .... In trauma, an increased thickness of the prevertebral space is a sign of injury, and can be measured with medical imaging. Clinical significance On plain radiography, prevertebral space should be less than 6 mm at C3 vertebral level in children; while in adults, the space should be less than 6 mm at C2 level and less than 22 mm at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertebral Lines
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sauropsid species, the cervical vertebrae bear cervical ribs. In lizards and saurischian dinosaurs, the cervical ribs are large; in birds, they are small and completely fused to the vertebrae. The vertebral transverse processes of mammals are homologous to the cervical ribs of other amniotes. Most mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, with the only three known exceptions being the manatee with six, the two-toed sloth with five or six, and the three-toed sloth with nine. In humans, cervical vertebrae are the smallest of the true vertebrae and can be readily distinguished from those of the thoracic or lumbar regions by the presence of a foramen (hole) in each transverse process, through which the vertebral artery, vertebral veins, and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves to generate images of the organs in the body. MRI does not involve X-rays or the use of ionizing radiation, which distinguishes it from CT and PET scans. MRI is a medical application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) which can also be used for imaging in other NMR applications, such as NMR spectroscopy. MRI is widely used in hospitals and clinics for medical diagnosis, staging and follow-up of disease. Compared to CT, MRI provides better contrast in images of soft-tissues, e.g. in the brain or abdomen. However, it may be perceived as less comfortable by patients, due to the usually longer and louder measurements with the subject in a long, confining tube, though "Open" MRI designs mostly relieve this. Additionally, implants and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Projectional Radiography
Projectional radiography, also known as conventional radiography, is a form of radiography and medical imaging that produces two-dimensional images by x-ray radiation. The image acquisition is generally performed by radiographers, and the images are often examined by radiologists. Both the procedure and any resultant images are often simply called "X-ray". Plain radiography or roentgenography generally refers to projectional radiography (without the use of more advanced techniques such as computed tomography that can generate 3D-images). ''Plain radiography'' can also refer to radiography without a radiocontrast agent or radiography that generates single static images, as contrasted to fluoroscopy, which are technically also projectional. Equipment X-ray generator Projectional radiographs generally use X-rays created by X-ray generators, which generate X-rays from X-ray tubes. Grid An anti-scatter grid may be placed between the patient and the detector to reduce the quantit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focal Neurological Signs
Focal neurologic signs also known as focal neurological deficits or focal CNS signs are impairments of nerve, spinal cord, or brain function that affects a specific region of the body, e.g. weakness in the left arm, the right leg, paresis, or plegia. Focal neurological deficits may be caused by a variety of medical conditions such as head trauma, tumors or stroke; or by various diseases such as meningitis or encephalitis or as a side effect of certain medications such as those used in anesthesia. Neurological soft signs, are a group of non-focal neurologic signs. Frontal lobe signs Frontal lobe signs usually involve the motor system and may include many special types of deficit, depending on which part of the frontal lobe is affected: * unsteady gait (unsteadiness in walking) * muscular rigidity, resistance to passive movements of the limbs (hypertonia) * paralysis of a limb (monoparesis) or a larger area on one side of the body (hemiparesis) * paralysis head and eye moveme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neck
The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In addition, the neck is highly flexible and allows the head to turn and flex in all directions. The structures of the human neck are anatomically grouped into four compartments; vertebral, visceral and two vascular compartments. Within these compartments, the neck houses the cervical vertebrae and cervical part of the spinal cord, upper parts of the respiratory and digestive tracts, endocrine glands, nerves, arteries and veins. Muscles of the neck are described separately from the compartments. They bound the neck triangles. In anatomy, the neck is also called by its Latin names, or , although when used alone, in context, the word ''cervix'' more often refers to the uterine cervix, the neck of the uterus. Thus the adjective ''cervical' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
