CHAPTER 12 PRESENTATIONBY: GERNELL AUSTIN

The Ending is Just the Beginning

Sometimes when you think that the meanings of words are telling you the complete story, you can be very mistaken.

Explained in this presentation are three suffixes that will bring to life a deeper knowledge of the human nervous system for you.

The endings of these medical terms are only the beginning of your understanding of their meanings & how it effects human life.

THE SUFFIXES

The three suffixes and their definition are listed below…

-PLEGIA: paralysis; or complete loss of muscle function.

-PHASIA: speech; or pertaining to speech.

-PARESIS: weakness; or pertaining to the weakness of.

Now, you may be thinking how paralysis, speech and weakness relate to the human nervous system.

Well, the nervous system coordinates and controls all body functions through sensory inputs and by ordering body responses.

These inputs and responses control the reactions of the body’s muscles, speech and weakness as it relates to pain stimulus, among many other things.

PARAPLEGIA

…is defined as the loss of the ability to move and/or feel both legs and generally, the lower trunk.

…is often caused by an injury to the spinal cord, such as those resulting from a car accident, gunshot wound or a non-traumatic factor such as a spinal tumor.

Immediately after the spinal cord injury, the loss of movement, sensation, and reflexes below the level of the spinal cord injury can occur.

Each year, approximately 11,000 people have spinal cord injuries that result in paraplegia.*

Paraplegia Survivor

This is Susan Rotchy of California and she is living with a T12 spinal cord injury. She uses cardio and specialized therapy as treatment for her paraplegia and has recently experienced increased levels of blood circulation in her legs.

APHASIA

…is a disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language, many times caused by stroke.

...usually occurs suddenly, but it may also develop slowly, as in the case of a brain tumor.

There are two categories of aphasia: fluent and non-fluent. Damage to the temporal lobe of the brain may result in

Wernicke’s, a fluent aphasia. A type of non-fluent aphasia is Broca’s aphasia, in which case people

have damage to the frontal lobe of the brain.According to the National Aphasia Association,

approximately 80,000 individuals acquire aphasia each year from strokes.*

APHASIA SENIOR

Here a granddaughter sits with her grand-father, who suffers from aphasia as a result of a stroke. According to researchers, learning the utterance patterns of patients can aid in comprehending impaired speech.

HEMIPARESIS

…is weakness on one side of the body caused by damage to the frontal lobe, usually as a result of a stroke.

When hemiparesis happens as a result of a stroke, it commonly involves muscles in the face, arm, and leg.*

About 80% of people who have had a stroke have some degree of trouble moving one side, or suffer from weakness on one side of their bodies.  **

People with hemiparesis may have trouble moving their arms and legs, difficulty walking and may also experience a loss of balance.

HEMIPARESIS PATIENT

This patient suffered from a stroke resulting in hemiparesis. As you can see in picture “A”, the patient has no muscle movement on the left side of her face. The “B” image is a mimetic smile produced by a pharmaceutical company researching a new treatment for hemiparesis effecting facial appearances.

REFERENCES

SLIDE # 5: http://www.medfriendly.com/paraplegia.html#whatisit

SLIDE #7: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/aphasia.htm

SLIDE #9: http://stroke.about.com/od/glossary/g/hemiparesis.htm

SLIDE # 9 **: http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hemiparesis

YOU

THANK