Definition of Terms

• Agnosia - failure to recognize familiar objects perceived by the senses.

• Agnosia- failure to recognize familiar objects perceived by the senses.
• Aneurysm – a weakening or bulge in an arterial wall.
• Aphasia – inability to express oneself or to understand language.
• Apraxia – inability to perform previously learned purposeful motor acts on a
voluntary basis.
• Apraxia- inability to perform previously learned purposeful motor acts on a
voluntary basis.
• Ataxia – impaired ability to coordinate movement, often seen as a staggering
gait or postural imbalance.
• Atherosclerosis- is the build up of a waxy plaque on the inside of blood vessels.
• Cardiomegaly - abnormal enlargement of the heart.
• Cholesterol - a eukaryotic sterol that in higher animals is the precursor of bile
acids and steroid hormones and a key constituent of cell membranes.
• Dysarthria – defects of articulation due to neurologic causes.
• Dyslexia- disorder involving difficulty in learning to read wordsw, letters, and
other symbols.
• Embolic Stroke- is a stroke caused by an embolus
• Enzymes: Proteins that act as catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific
chemical reaction.
• Expressive aphasia – inability to express oneself; often associated with
damage to the left frontal lobe area.
• Hemianopsia – blindness of half of the field of vision in one or both eyes.
• Hemianopsia- blindness of half of the field of vision in one or both eyes.
• Hemiplegia/ hemiparesis – weakness/ paralysis of one side of the body, or
part or it, due to an injury to the motor areas of the brain.
• Hemiplegia/Hemiparesis- weakness/paralysis of one side of the body, or
part of it.
• Hemorrhagic Stroke- bleeding within or around the brain.
• Horner’s syndrome- paralysis of nerves to the eye.
• Infarction – a zone of tissue deprived of blood supply.
• Ischemic stroke- is cause by a thrombotic or embolic blockage of blood flow
in the brain.
• Korsakoff’s syndrome – personality disorder characterized by psychosis,
disorientation, delirium, insomnia, and hallucinations.
• Penumbra syndrome – area of low cerebral blood flow.
• Perseveration – continued and automatic repetition of an activity or word or
phrase that is no longer appropriate.
• Receptive aphasia – inability to understand what someone else is saying;
often associated with damage to the temporal lobe area.
• Somatostatin: A hormone widely distributed throughout the body, especially
in the hypothalamus and pancreas that acts as an important regulator of
endocrine and nervous system function by inhibiting the secretion of several
other hormones such as growth hormone, insulin, and gastrin.
• Thrombotic stroke- is a stroke that is caused by a thrombus.
• Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs)- reversible episodes of neurologic
dysfunction caused by temporary, focal cerebral ischemia, and is also
called ‘’intermittent cerebrovascular insufficiency’’.