3.1 week 2 Flashcards
(87 cards)
What is neuronopathy?
Neuronopathy refers to damage or dysfunction of the neuronal cell bodies, affecting motor or sensory neurons.
What is radiculopathy?
Radiculopathy is damage or irritation of a nerve root as it exits the spinal column, causing pain, weakness, or sensory loss along the nerve’s distribution.
What is the difference between motor neuronopathy and sensory neuronopathy?
Motor Neuronopathy: Affects motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and wasting (e.g., ALS).
Sensory Neuronopathy: Affects sensory neurons, causing loss of sensation like numbness or tingling.
What is plexopathy?
Plexopathy is damage or dysfunction of a nerve plexus, a network of intersecting nerves (e.g., brachial or lumbosacral plexus).
What are the symptoms of radiculopathy?
Symptoms include pain radiating along a dermatome, weakness, and sensory loss in muscles innervated by the affected nerve root.
What are common symptoms of plexopathy?
Plexopathy causes motor weakness, sensory loss, and sometimes autonomic dysfunction in areas served by the plexus.
Define neuropathy.
Neuropathy refers to a disorder of the peripheral nerves, affecting motor, sensory, or autonomic functions.
What is the difference between axonal neuropathy and demyelinating neuropathy?
Axonal Neuropathy: The primary damage occurs to the axon, leading to weakness and sensory loss.
Demyelinating Neuropathy: The damage occurs to the myelin sheath, slowing or blocking nerve signal transmission.
What fibers are affected in axonal neuropathy?
Axons, which are the long thread-like parts of the nerve cell that transmit signals, are primarily damaged.
What are common causes of demyelinating neuropathy?
Conditions like Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), where the immune system attacks the myelin sheath around nerves.
What are thick nerve fibers responsible for?
Thick, heavily myelinated fibers carry motor signals, vibration sense, fine touch, and proprioception.
What symptoms arise when thick fibers are damaged?
Damage to thick fibers results in muscle weakness, loss of fine touch, vibration sensation, and difficulty coordinating movements.
What are thin nerve fibers responsible for?
Thin, unmyelinated or lightly myelinated fibers carry sensations like pain, temperature, and crude touch.
What happens when thin fibers are damaged?
Damage to thin fibers leads to loss of pain and temperature sensation and may cause burning or tingling pain.
What is motor neuropathy?
Motor neuropathy affects the motor nerves, causing muscle weakness, atrophy, and possibly paralysis.
What is sensory neuropathy?
Sensory neuropathy affects the sensory nerves, leading to numbness, tingling, burning sensations, or loss of sensation.
What is autonomic neuropathy?
Autonomic neuropathy affects the autonomic nerves, leading to issues with involuntary functions such as blood pressure, digestion, or sweating.
What are exteroceptors?
Receptors that detect stimuli from outside the body (e.g., touch, temperature, pain).
What do interoceptors detect?
Stimuli from within the body, such as internal organ signals and chemical changes.
Name the types of receptors based on what they react to.
Thermoreceptors: Detect temperature changes.
Mechanoreceptors: React to mechanical changes (pressure, vibration).
Photoreceptors: Detect light (in the eyes).
Chemoreceptors: Detect chemical changes (e.g., in taste or blood gases).
What is the role of proprioceptors?
Provide information about the position and movement of body parts, located in muscles, tendons, and joints.
What are nociceptors?
Specialized receptors that detect painful stimuli.
What is an adequate stimulus?
The specific type of stimulus to which a receptor has a low threshold and responds optimally.
Define transduction in the context of sensory receptors.
The process of converting energy from a stimulus into an electrical signal (action potential).