Glossary of terms

  1. Antibody - an immunoglobulin molecule that has a specific amino acid sequence by virtue of which it interacts only with the antigen that induced its synthesis in lymphoid tissue, or with antigen closely related to it. Antibodies are classified according to their mode of action as agglutinins, bacteriolysins, hemolysins, opsonins, precipitins etc.
  2. Astereognosis - loss of power to recognize objects or to appreciate their form by touching or feeling them
  3. Ataxia - failure of muscular coordination; irregularity of muscular action
  4. Athetosis - a derangement marked by ceaseless occurrence of slow sinuous, writhing movements, especially severe in the hands and performed involuntarily; it may occur after hemiplegia, and is then known as posthemiplegic chores.
  5. Autoimmune - directed against the body's own tissue.
  6. Autosome - any ordinary paired chromosome as a distinguished from a sex chromosome; in man there are 22 pairs of autosomes
  7. Axon - that process of a nerve cell by which impulses travel away from the cell body; called also axis cylinder and telodendron
  8. Ballismus - violent flinging movements caused by contractions of the proximal limb muscles as a result of destruction of the subthalamic nucleus of Luysii or its fiber connections, sometime affecting only one side of the body (Hemiballism)
  9. Chorea - the ceaseless occurrence of a wide variety of rapid, highly complex, jerky movements that appear to be well coordinated but are performed involuntarily
  10. Extrapyramidal - outside of the pyramidal tracts; a functional, rather than anatomical, unit comprising of the nuclei and fibers(excluding those of the pyramidal tract) involved in motor activities; they control and coordinate especially the postural, static, supporting, and locomotor mechanisms. The tract includes the corpus striatum, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, and the red nucleus along with their interconnections with the reticular formation, cerebellum and cerebrum; some authorities include the cerebellum and the vestibular nuclei.
  11. Fasciculations - a small local contraction of muscles visible through the skin, representing a spontaneous discharge of a number of fibers innervated by a single motor nerve filament.
  12. Friedrich's Ataxia - Friedrich's disease an inherited disease, usually beginning in childhood or youth, with sclerosis of the dorsal and lateral columns of the spinal cord. Ataxia, speech impairment, lateral curvature of the spinal column and peculiar swaying and irregular movements with paralysis of the muscles.
  13. Ischemia, Ischemic - deficiency of blood in a part, due to functional constriction or actual obstruction of a blood vessel
  14. Mitochondria - small spherical to rod-shaped components (organelles) found in the cytoplasm of cells, enclosed in a double membrane, the inner one having infoldings called cristae. They are the principal sites of the generation of energy (in the form o ion gradients and adenosine triphosphate [ATP] synthesis) resulting from the oxidation of foodstuffs, and they contain the enzymes of the Krebs and fatty acid cycles and the respiratory pathway. Mitochondria are organelles with genetic continuity and contain an extra nuclear source of DNA.
  15. Mononucleotide - a product obtained by the digestion or hydrolytic decomposition of nucleic acid. It is a compound of phosphoric acid and a pentoside. The later is a combination of a pentose (ribose or deoxyribose) with one of the following bases: guanine, adenine, cytosine, uracil or thymine.
  16. Muscle spindle - a mechanoreceptor found between skeletal muscle fibers; the muscle spindles are arranged in parallel with muscle fibers, and respond to passive stretch of the muscle but cease to discharge it the muscle contracts isotonically, thus signaling muscle strength or myotatic reflex (performed or induced by stretching or extending a muscle)
  17. Myelin - the lipid substance forming a sheath around certain nerve fibers; called also white substance of Schwann.
  18. Myelitis - inflammation of the spinal cord
  19. Myelocele - hernial protrusion of the substance of the spinal cord through a defect in the bony spinal canal.
  20. Myelomeningocele - hernial protrusion of the cord and its meninges through a defect in the vertebral canal.
  21. Neuron - any of the conducting cells of the nervous system. A typical neuron consists of a cell body, containing the nucleus and the surrounding cytoplasm, several short radiating processes (dendrites); and one long process (axon).
  22. Para - a prefix meaning beside beyond, accessory to, apart from, against etc.
  23. Paralysis - loss or impairment of motor function in a part due to lesion of the neural or muscular mechanism also by analysis, impairment of sensory function.
  24. Paraparesis - a partial paralysis, especially of the lower extremities.
  25. Paraplegia - paralysis of the legs and lower part of the body.
  26. Paresis - a word meaning slight or incomplete paralysis or Weakness to the muscles.
  27. Plegia - a word meaning Paralysis of a limb or limbs
  28. Plexus - a network or triangle; general term for a network of lymphatic vessels, nerves or veins.
  29. Polymer - a compound, usually of high molecular weight, formed by the linear combination of simpler repeating molecules, or monomers
  30. Stenosis - a narrowing or stricture of a duct or canal
  31. Synapse - the anatomical relation of one nerve cell to another; the region of junction between processes of two adjacent neurons, forming the place where a nervous impulse id transmitted from one neuron to another
  32. Trinucleotide - a polymer made up of three mononucleotides
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