|
Return
to Spine Home Page
A
AEBI, ETTER, AND COSICA - Anterior approach to inferior C-2
to fractured dens with screws.
ALAR DYSGENESIS - Abnormality in development of the sacroiliac
joint.
ALLOGRAFT BONE - Sterile bone derived from another human which
is used for grafting procedures.
ANKYLOSING SPINAL HYPEROSTOSIS - Arthritic disorder in which
bridgingosteophytes located anteriorly and posteriorly on
the vertebral body bind two or more vertebrae together; Forestier
disease.
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS - stiffening or fixation of the vertebra;
an inflammatory joint disease mainly affecting the spine hips,
and pelvis.
ANTERIOR - Front of the body or situated nearer the front
of the body.
ANTERIOR APPROACH - When used to approach the cervical, cervicodorsal,
dorsal, and lumbar spines, it is designed to provide sufficient
surface for multiple segmental spinal fusions; Hodgson, Roaf.
For specific cervical spinal explorations and fusions; Southwick
and Robinson, Bailey and Badgley, Whitesides and kelly, Henry
(to vertebral artery).
ANTERIOR CERVICAL DISCECTOMY - an operation where the cervical
spine is reached through a small incision in the front of
your neck. After the soft tissues of the neck are separated,
the intervertebral disc and bone spurs are removed.
ANTERIOR CERVICAL DISCECTOMY WITH FUSION - an operation performed
on the upper spine to relieve pressure on one or more nerve
roots, or on the spinal cord. The term is derived from the
words anterior (front), cervical (neck), and fusion (joining
the vertebrae with a bone graft).
ANTERIOR DISPLACEMENT - Forward movement of the superior segment
on the inferior one.
ANTERIOR LUMBAR INTERBODY FUSION (ALIF) - operation where
the lumbar spine is approached through an incision in the
abdomen. A portion of the affected disc space is removed from
the spine and replaced with an implant.
ANTERIOR SPINAL FUSION - Approaching the spine from the front,
the intervertable disc and/or vertebral body is removed and
bone graft is inserted. Some variations of this procedure
include the Smith-Robinson, Cloward and dowel procedures.
ANTERIOR SPURRING - Ligament turning to bone on anterior side
of vertebral body.
ANTEROLATERAL - Situated or occurring in front of and to the
side.
ANTEROLATERAL APPROACH - An approach to the dorsal spine by
rib resection to explore the spine anteriorly and in some
cases to do spinal fusions and decompressions spinal cord.
ARACHNOID - Middle layer of membranes covering the brain and
spinal cord.
ARACHNOIDITIS - Inflammation of the arachnoid membrane, most
commonly seen within the spinal cord around the spinal cord
and cauda equina.
ARNOLD-CHIARI MALFORMATION - A condition in which there is
displacement of the medulla and cerebellum into the opening
in the basilar part of the occipital bone. It is one of the
causes of hydrocephalus and is usually accompanied by spina
bifida and menigomyelocele.
ARTERY of ADAMKIEWICZ - An important source of blood supply
to the lower portion of the spine, usually occurring at T-9
to T-11 level; however, not the only blood supply to the cord
at that level.
ARTHRALGIA - Joint pain.
ARTHRITIS - Inflammation of a joint usually characterized
by swelling, pain and restriction of motion.
ARTHRODESIS - The fusion of bones across a joint space, thereby
limiting or eliminating movement. It may occur spontaneously
or as a result of a surgical procedure, such as fusion of
the spine.
ARTHROPATHY - Any disease or disorder involving a joint.
ARTHROPLASTY - The surgical remodeling of a diseased or damaged
joint.
ARTHROSCOPE - An instrument inserted into it's joint cavity
to view the interior of a joint and correct certain abnormalities.
An arthroscope is an endoscope for use in a joint.
ARTHROSCOPY - The procedure of visualizing the inside of a
joint by means of an arthroscope.
ARTICULAR - Pertaining to a joint.
ATLANTO-AXIAL -Pertaining to the atlas and the axis; denoting
the joint between the first two cervical vertebrae.
ATLANTO-EPISTRPHIC - See atlanto-axial.
ATLANTO-OCCIPITAL - Relating to the atlas and the occipital
bone.
ATLANTO-ODONTOID - Relating to the atlas and the dens of the
axis.
ATLAS - First cervical vertebrae, articulating with the occipital
bone and rotating around the dens of the axis.
ATROPHY - A wasting of the tissues of a body part.
AUTOGENOUS BONE - Bone originating from the same individual;
i.e., an individual's own bone.
AUTOGRAFT BONE - Bone transplanted from one part to another
part of the body in the same individual.
AXIS - The vertebral column. The second cervical vertebra,
about which the first cervical vertebra rotates, allowing
head movement.
AXON - The part of a nerve cell that usually sends signals
to other nerves or structures.
Return to the top
B
BACKBONE - See Spine.
BACK PAIN - nonspecific term used to describe pain below the
cervical spine
BMP-LIKE PRODUCTS - proteins that enhance mineralization,
which can increase bone formation.
BONE - The hard tissue that provides structural support to
the body. It is primarily composed of hydroxyapatite crystals
and collagen. Individual bones may be classed as long, short,
or flat.
BONE DERIVATIVE - One of the substances extracted from bone,
such as bone morphogenic proteins (BMP).
BONE GRAFT - Bone which is harvested from one location in
an individual and placed in another individual (allograft
bone) or in a different location in the same individual (autogenous
bone).
BONE HARVESTING - the removal of bone for transplantation
to another site. The most common sources are the iliac crests
because these bones contain a large amount of cancellous bone,
the inner spongy part, which is useful for getting grafts
to "take."
BONE MARROW - The tissue contained within the internal cavities
of the bones. A major function of this tissue is to produce
red blood cells.
BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN-2 (BMP-2) - one of a family of
BMPs- naturally occurring chemicals in the body- that play
a major role in bone growth. BMP-like products: proteins that
enhance mineralization, which can increase bone formation.
BONE PLATE - Usually a relatively thin metal device which
is affixed to bone via screws. Bone plates are used to immobilize
bones or bone fragments such that healing can occur.
BONE SCREW - A threaded metal device which is inserted into
bone. The functions of bone screws are to immobilize bones
or bone fragments or to affix other medical devices, such
as metal bone plates, to bones.
BROOKS and JENKINS - Loops of wire around lamina of C-1 and
C-2 to hold bone graft between lamina.
BROWN-SEQUARD'S SYNDROME - Loss of sensation of touch, position
sense, and movement on the side of a spinal cord lesion, with
loss of pain sensation on the other side. Caused by a lesion
limited to one side of spinal cord.
Return to the top
C
CADAVER - A term generally applied to a dead human body preserved
for anatomical study.
CANCELLOUS BONE - The spongy or honeycomb structure of some
bone tissue typically found at the ends of long bones.
CARPAL TUNNEL - Space under a ligament in wrist through which
the median nerve enters the palm of the hand.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME - A condition caused by compression
of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel, characterized especially
by discomfort and disturbances of sensation in the hand.
CARTILAGE - The hard, thin layer of white glossy tissue that
covers the end of bone at a joint. This tissue allows motion
to take place with a minimum amount of friction.
CAUDA EQUINA - The bundle of spinal nerve roots arising from
the end of the spinal cord and filling the lower part of the
spinal canal(from approximately the thoraco-lumbar junction
down).
CAUDA EQUINA SYNDROME - Sufficient pressure on the nerves
in the low back to produce multiple nerve root irritation
and commonly loss of bowel and bladder control.
CENTRAL CORD SYNDROME - Most common of the incomplete traumatic
spinal cord syndromes characterized by motor impairment that
is proportionately greater in the upper limbs than in the
lower, with bladder dysfunction and a variable degree of sensory
loss below the level of the cord lesion.
CERVICAL - Of or relating to the neck.
CERVICAL PLEXUS - Plexus of nerves that supply the neck muscles
with branches named by muscles supplied, a portion which is
called the ansa cervicalis.
CERVICAL RIB - Riblike structure in the seventh cervical vertebra
that may cause nerve root irritation.
CERVICAL SPINAL FUSION - Spinal fusion involving the seven
cervical segments. This may include the base of the skull,
the occiput, and the first thoracic spine.
CHEMONUCLEOLYSIS - A treatment of an intervertebral disc that
consists of an injection of chymopapain, a drug that dissolves
part of the disc.
COCCYALGIA - Pain in the coccyx region5 coccygodynia, coccyodynia,
coccydynia.
COCCYGEAL - Remaining three or four, somewhat fixed, fused
segments at the end of the spine (tailbone) that articulate
with sacrum above.
COCCYGECTOMY - Excision of the coccyx (tailbone).
COCCYGOTOMY - Incision into the coccyx (tailbone).
COCCYX - The small bone at the end of the spinal column in
man, formed by the fusion of four rudimentary vertebrae. The
three, and sometimes four, segments of bone just below the
sacrum; referred to as the tailbone.
COMPRESSION - A squeezing together; the exertion of pressure
on a body in such a way as to tend to increase its density;
the decrease in a dimension of a body under the action of
two external forces directed toward one another in the same
straight line.
CONGENITAL SCOLIOSIS - Scoliosis due to bony abnormalities
present at birth involving either failure of formation of
a vertebra or separation of adjacent vertebrae.
CORDOTOMY - Transverse incision into the spinal cord.
CORPECTOMY - Excision of vertebral body usually combined with
interpostion of prosthesis or bone graft.
CORTICAL BONE - The dense bone that forms the outer surface
of bone.
COSTO - Combining form denoting relation to ribs.
COSTOCHONDRAL JUNCTION - junction of the rib into cartilage
in the anterior chest. NOTE: Most of the ribs have attachment
to the cartilage rather than a direct junction with the breast
bone.
COSTOVERTEBRAL ANGLE - Juncture of tissue inferior and lateral
to the twelfth rib and vertebral body.
COSTOVERTEBRAL JOINT - Junction of the rib with the thoracic
spine.
COTREL-DUBOUSSET - Posterior fixation device for spinal deformity,
fracture, tumor, and degenerative conditions.
Return to the top
D
DECOMPRESSION - In relation to the spine this procedure is
carried out to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerve
roots.
DECOMPRESSIVE LAMINECTOMY - A decompression done by removing
the lamina and spinous process.
DEGENERATIVE - The lesion results from intersegmental instability
of long duration.
DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE - Gradual or rapid deterioration
of the chemical composition and physical properties of the
disc space.
DEGENERATIVE TENOSIS - Gradual hypertrophy of the vertebral
body margin, facet joints, and ligamentum flavum leading to
stenosis.
DE-MINERALIZED BONE - Bone tissue which has been depleted
of its minerals; e.g., calcium and phosphorous.
DEMINERALIZED BONE MATRIX (DMB) - is a source of BMP and is
derived from pulverized bone specimens that are demineralized
with an acid solution. It is used as a bone grafting material,
but DMB has produced disappointing results in clinical studies,
probably due to low concentrations of BMP that can also vary
from batch to batch.
DERMATOME - Refers to the distribution of sensory nerves near
the skin that are responsible for pain, tingling, and other
sensations (or lack of).
DIASTEMATOMYELIA - Congenital defect associated with spina
bifida in which the spinal cord is split in half by bony spicules
or fibrous bands, each half being surrounded by a dural sac.
DISC - The intervertebral disc - cartilaginous cushion found
between the vertebrae of the spinal column. It may bulge beyond
the vertebral body and compress the nearby nerve root, causing
pain. The terms "slipped disc", "ruptured disc"
and "herniated disc" are often used interchangeably
even though there are subtle differences.
DISC DEGENERATION - The loss of the structural and functional
integrity of the disc.
DISCECTOMY - Surgical removal of part or all of an intervertebral
disc material placing pressure on neural elements.
DISCITIS - Nonbacterial inflammation of an intervertebral
disc or disc space.
DISC SPACE INFECTION - Infection in the space normally occupied
by an intervertebral disc.
DISKOGRAM - The graphic record, usually radiographic, of diskography.
DISKOGRAPHY - Radiographic demonstration of intervertebral
disc by injection of contrast media into the nucleus of the
pulposus.
DURA - Dura mater.
DYSESTHESIA - A condition in which a disagreeable sensation
is produced by ordinary touch, temperature or movement.
DYSPHASIA - Difficulty in the use of language due to a brain
lesion without mental impairment.
DYSPLASTIC - Congenital abnormalities of the arch of the sacrum
or the arch of L-5 that permit the slipping to occur.
DYSRAPHISM - Any failure of closure of the primary neural
tube. This general category would include the disorder myelomeningocele.
DYSTONIA MUSCULORM DEFORMANS - An affl iction occurring especially
in children, marked by muscular contractions producing distortions
of the spin and hips.
Return to the top
E
ENDOSCOPE - A medical device for viewing internal portions
of the body. It is usually comprised of fiber optic tubes
and video display instruments.
ENDOSCOPY - Inspection of internal body structures or cavities
using an endoscope.
EPENDYMA - The membrane lining the cerebral ventricles of
the brain and central canal of the spinal cord.
EPENDYMOMA - A growth in the brain or spinal cord arising
from ependymal tissue. Tumor of the spinal cord.
EPIDURAL - Immediately outside the dura mater. Same as extradural.
EXTRUSION - Displaced material reaches the spinal canal through
fibers of the annulus, but remains connected to the central
disc material.
Return to the top
|
