GLOSSARY
Cerebral Palsy
Apgar Score - A numbered score (0-10) doctors use to assess a baby's physical state at the time of birth.
Apraxia - Impaired ability to carry out purposeful movements in an individual who does not have significant motor problems.
Asphyxia - Lack of oxygen due to trouble with breathing or poor oxygen supply in the air.
Bile Pigments - Yellow-colored substances produced by the human body as a by-product of digestion.
Cerebral - Relating to the two hemispheres of the human brain.
Computed Tomography (CT) - An imaging technique that uses x-rays and a computer to create a picture of the brain's tissues and structures.
Contracture - A condition in which muscles become fixed in a rigid, abnormal position causing distortion or deformity.
Dysarthria - Problems with speaking caused by difficulty moving or coordinating the muscles needed for speech.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) - A technique for recording the pattern of electrical currents inside the brain.
Electromyography - A special recording technique that detects muscle activity.
Failure to Thrive - A condition characterized by lag in physical growth and development.
Gait Analysis - A technique that uses camera recording, force plates, electromyography, and computer analysis to objectively measure an individual's pattern of walking.
Gastrostomy - A surgical procedure to create an artificial opening in the stomach.
Hemianopia - Defective vision or blindness that impairs half of the normal field of vision.
Hemiparetic Tremors - Uncontrollable shaking affecting the limbs on the spastic side of the body in those who have spastic hemiplegia.
Hypertonia - Increased tone.
Hypotonia - Decreased tone.
Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy - Brain damage caused by poor blood flow or insufficient oxygen supply to the brain.
Jaundice - A blood disorder caused by the abnormal buildup of bile pigments in the bloodstream.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - An imaging technique which uses radio waves, magnetic fields and computer analysis to create a picture of body tissues and structures.
Neonatal Hemorrhage - Bleeding of brain blood vessels in the newborn.
Orthotic Devices - Special devices such as splints or braces, used to treat problems of the muscles, ligaments or bones of the skeletal system.
Paresis or Plegia - Weakness or paralysis. In cerebral palsy, these terms are typically combined with another phrase that describes the distribution of paralysis and weakness, e.g., paraparesis.
Palsy - Paralysis or problems in the control of voluntary movement.
Reflexes - Movements that the body makes automatically in response to a specific cue.
Rh Incompatibility - A blood condition in which antibodies in a pregnant woman's blood can attack fetal blood cells, impairing the fetus's supply of oxygen and nutrients.
Rubella - Also known as German measles, rubella is a viral infection that can damage the nervous system in the developing fetus.
Selective Dorsal Root Rhizotomy - A surgical procedure in which selected nerves are severed to reduce spasticity in the legs.
Spastic Diplegia - A form of cerebral palsy in which both arms and both legs are affected, the legs being more severely affected.
Spastic Hemiplegia (or Hemiparesis) - A form of cerebral palsy in which spasticity affects the arm and leg on one side of the body.
Spastic Paraplegia (or Paraparesis) - A form of cerebral palsy in which spasticity affects both legs but the arms are relatively or completely spared.
Spastic Quadriplegia (or Quadriparesis) - A form of cerebral palsy in which all four limbs are affected equally.
Stereognosia - Difficulty perceiving and identifying objects using the sense of touch.
Strabismus - Misalignment of the eyes.
Ultrasonography - A technique that bounces sound waves off of tissues and structures and uses the pattern of echoes to form an image called a sonogram.
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