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Absence seizure
A type of fit seen in epilepsy which is particularly common in children and which takes the form of brief spells of impaired awareness.
Acute attack
A sudden flare-up in symptoms.
Alpha rhythm
A pattern of brain activity recorded over the back of the head in an EEG. This pattern is seen when someone is sitting quietly with their eyes closed.
Alzheimer’s disease
A form of dementia characterised by a progressive decline of language,
memory and behaviour.
Amaurosis fugax
This is a technical term which means temporary loss of vision in one eye.
Anaesthesia dolorosa
Severe, dull, continuous pain that can occasionally occur in the numb area following procedures to interrupt a nerve.
Analgesics
Painkilling drugs.
Aneurysm
A weakness in the wall of an artery which may cause it to leak blood.
Angina
A pain in the chest, sometimes extending into the left arm, which is due to a shortage of blood to the heart muscle.
Angiogram
This is a special x-ray which is used to confirm any narrowing of the arteries in the neck or brain. After a local anaesthetic, a fine tube is passed through an artery in the groin up i nto the arteries which carry blood to the brain. A special dye is injected into the vessels and x-rays are taken
Annulus
This is the tough fibrous outer capsule of an intervertebral disc. In the healthy state it encloses and retains the nucleus.
Anterior
This refers to the front of the body or one of its parts e.g. the spine. It is the opposite of posterior.
Antibiotic
A substance that destroys or inhibits the growth of microbes/microorganisms.
Anti-convulsant
A drug that prevents or reduces the severity of fits/seizures.
Antidepressants
These are drugs that are prescribed for people who are suffering from
depression.They are also useful in treating central post stroke pain.
Anti-emetic
A drug that prevents vomiting.
Anti-vertiginous drugs
Medicines that can reduce dizziness, vertigo or car/sea sickness. Long-term treatments are usually not effective. Some examples are Stemetil
(Prochlorperazine), Stugeron (Cinnarizine), Serc (Betahistine).
Arachnoid
The middle of the three membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Arachnoiditis
This is active inflammation of the membranes which surround the spinal cord. By common usage it has come to refer to dense scar tissue that forms around the nerves, inside the spine, as a result of an earlier episode of inflammation.
Arteriovenous malformation
A knot of abnormal blood vessels present since birth which can expand slowly and leak blood.
Artery
A thick-walled blood vessel which carries blood from the heart to a articular
part of the body.
Articulation
The production of the sounds of speech by the movement of the lips, tongue and jaw.
Articulatory dyspraxia/apraxia
An impairment of the process by which the lips, tongue and jaw are directed to produce speech by the brain. The articulatory difficulty is often directly related to the complexity of the word or sounds, and speech is often characterised by slow, laborious attempts to produce words.
Aspirate
To withdraw fluid from the body by means of suction.
Assisted/artificial ventilation
When a person has lost the ability to breathe normally, a ventilator or life support machine can be used to take over breathing. The person is connected to the ventilator by means of a tube passed through the nose or mouth into the windpipe, or sometimes via an opening made in the windpipe known as a tracheostomy.
Ataxia
The term used by doctors to describe unsteadiness or poor coordination.
Atrial fibrillation
An irregular heart rhythm which involves irregular and rapid beating in the upper chambers of the heart.
Atrophy
Shrinkage or wasting of a tissue or organ due to a reduction in the size or number of its cells.
Aura
The term used to describe the warning signs which some people get before
migraine attacks, which include visual, sensory and speech disturbances.
Autoimmune
The immune system recognises and then gets rid of infections using cells called lymphocytes and proteins called antibodies. Usually the immune system can tell the difference between normal body proteins (“self”) and those of bacteria or viruses (“foreign”). Occasionally “self” proteins are recognised as “foreign” and inflammation develops. This is called an autoimmune reaction. There are a number of autoimmune diseases e.g. some forms of diabetes or thyroid disease. These are not linked to transverse myelitis.
Axons
The long cytoplasmic extensions of nerve cells (neurons) that conduct the electrical impulses or messages in both the central and in the peripheral nervous systems. They can be several feet in length.
Acetylcholine
A chemical messenger in the brain and the rest of the nervous system.
Akinesia
Difficulty in starting movement.
