This chapter discusses the nervous system and reviews suffixes like -phasia and -plegia. It describes aphasia as trouble with verbal communication or writing caused by brain damage, and discusses receptive and expressive aphasia. Paraplegia is defined as partial or complete paralysis of the lower half of the body resulting from spinal cord injury, and affects mobility but not use of the arms and hands. Many paraplegics use wheelchairs and can live normal lives with therapy, though some have medical complications like pressure sores.

1. Chapter 12
The Nervous System
Review of -phasia, -plegia, aphasia, and
paraplegia

2. Suffixes

-phasia

Speech


Example: dysphasia/aphasia
-plegia

Paralysis

Examples: paraplegia, quadriplegia, monoplegia,

3. Dysphasia/Aphasia


Trouble with verbal
communication or writing
Caused by damage of speech
or brain areas in the brain
that control language



Can be moderate or severe


Stroke is a major cause
May also be a result of
head injury or injury to the
brain.
Patients with acute aphasia
can recover some skills by
working with a speech
language pathologist
Types:


receptive
expressive

4. Receptive aphasia




Fluent aphasia
Associated with damage to
the Wernicke’s area of the
brain and damage to the
medial temporal lobe and
underlying white matte.
Difficulty in
understanding or
comprehending language
Speech is easy and fluent,
but often disorganized

5. Expressive aphasia




Also called non-fluent aphasia
Caused by damage to the anterior regions of the
brain, Broca’s area usually due to stroke.
Trouble putting words together for meaning and
articulating thoughts verbally, although usually
understanding is intact
Individuals with expressive aphasia often use made
up words or neologisms to convey meaning.

Example: “short” instead of “stroke”

6. Paraplegia

7. Paraplegia




Complete or partial paralysis of the lower half of the body
Lower part of the body loses sensation or movement
Have full movement and use of arm and hands
Result of damage to the nervous system (usually due to accident) is the
most frequent cause of paraplegia




Broken neck/back
Spinal cord injury
Stroke
Congenital




Spinal bifida
Tumor
Infection
Spinal cord disorder

Syrinx

8. Paraplegia

Affects the following regions of the
spinal canal:



thoracic
Lumbar
sacral regions

9. Paraplegics

Degree of treatment is case-dependent


May also have a number of medical
complications:




Some paraplegics can walk to a certain degree,
but many use wheel chairs for mobility.
Pressure sores
Thrombosis
Pneumonia
Many live normal lives with help of
therapy to learn basic skills to gain
independence.

10. Bibliography










American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Aphasia.”
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/aphasia.html. 12 November 2013
Expressive dysphasia. http://www.nle.nottingham.ac.uk/websites/stroke/contents/expdysphasia.html. 11
Novmber 2013
Fregman, B and Frucht S. “Chapter 8. Digestive System.” Medical Terminology: A Living Language (5 th
edition). 2005.
Human Diseases and Conditions. “Paralysis.” http://www.humanillnesses.com/original/PanPre/Paralysis.html. 13 November 2013.
Innovative Health Technologies. “Aphasia Help.”
http://www.aphasiahelp.org/information/aphasia/11_aphasiadysphasia/. 12 November 2013
Kean. “The brain.” UC Irvine. http://wwwrohan.sdsu.edu/~gawron/intro/course_core/lectures/aphasia_cases_slides.html. 11 November 2013.
Medical Exhibits, Demonstrative Aids, Illustrations, and Models. “Paraplegic Condition.”
http://www.medicalexhibits.com/medical_exhibits.php?exhibit=06907_09W&query=paraplegic
%20condition%20paralysis%20T10%20T11%20lower%20extremities. 13 November 2013.
National Institute of Health. “Genetics Home Reference.” http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/glossary=paraplegia 12
November 2013.
Primary Surgery: Volume 2. The Spine. “Mobilizing and rehabilitating the paraplegic.”
http://www.primary-surgery.org/ps/vol2/html/sect0244.html.
Spinal Cord Injury Support. “Types of Paralysis - Quadriplegia (Tetraplegia) and Paraplegia.”
http://www.apparelyzed.com/paralysis.html. 13 November 2013