Conditions that impair neuromuscular apparatus

Question 1

What may compromise ventilation in a patient with head trauma, an intracranial infection, or a brain tumor?

Answer 1

Damage to the respiratory centers of the brain

Question 2

What serious injury can block nerve impulses that stimulate breathing?

Answer 2

Injury to the spinal cord above the level of the fifth cervical vertebra (C5)

Question 3

What syndrome is characterized by progressive muscle weakness and paralysis advancing up the body?

Answer 3

Guillain-Barré syndrome

Question 4

What happens if paralysis from Guillain-Barré syndrome reaches the diaphragm?

Answer 4

Ineffective breathing

Question 5

What disease is also known as Lou Gehrig disease?

Answer 5

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Question 6

What is the usual cause of death in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?

Answer 6

Respiratory failure

Question 7

What bacterium causes botulism?

Answer 7

Clostridium botulinum

Question 8

What is a common cause of botulism?

Answer 8

Food poisoning or giving infants raw (unpasteurized) honey

Question 9

What severe condition can botulism cause?

Answer 9

Muscle paralysis

Question 10

True or False: Botulism is usually non-fatal when it reaches the muscles of respiration.

Answer 10

False

Question 11

Fill in the blank: Serious injury to the spinal cord above the level of _______ may block nerve impulses that stimulate breathing.

Answer 11

the fifth cervical vertebra (C5)

Question 12

List two conditions that can impair the neuromuscular apparatus affecting breathing.

Answer 12

• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)