1. Chapter 12:Plegia Meaning Paralysis Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from lonic Greek: half- striking. It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida which affects the neural elements of the spinal canal. The area of the spinal canal which is affected in paraplegia is either the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral regions. If both arms are also affected by paralysis, quadriplegia is the proper terminology. If only one limb is affected the correct term is monoplegia. Paraplegia is most often a result of a traumatic injury to the spinal cord nervous tissue or the resulting inflammation and swelling that occurs around the point of injury. Paraplegia can also be caused by non- traumatic and congenital factors such as spinal tumors, scoliosis, or spina bifida.

2. Chapter 12: (Continue) Scoliosis is an abnormal curving of the bones that make up the structure surrounding the spinal cord. Spina bifida is a birth defect in which parts of the bones that make up the structure surrounding the spinal cord that do not come together property. Spinal cord injuries resulting in paraplegia are known as either complete or incomplete. For a complete injury, no level of feeling or function exists for the patient below the point of injury. A incomplete injury results in the patient retainting some level or feeling or function below the point of injury.

3. Ataxia: (Muscle Coordination) Ataxia is a medical term originated from the Greek language meaning without order, refers to disturbances in the control of body posture, motor coordination speech control, and spino cerebella tracts, substanianigra, Pons, and cerebral cortex control the functions. Injuries in one or more of these areas or in the spinal cord may lead to some form of ataxia. Birth trauma, medication toxicity, drug abuse, infections, tumors, degeneration, disorders, head injury, stroke, or aneurysm, as well as hereditary neurological disorders also may cause ataxia. Many different types of inherited ataxia are presently known. Examples include Machado-Joseph disease, ataxia-telangietasia and Fredreich ataxia