Pathophysiology

Part 1: 

Please describe an example of both a primary and secondary spinal cord injury.

Our discussion this week pertains to Spinal Cord Injuries. Primary spinal cord injury involves damage to vertebral or neural tissues from compression, traction, or shearing forces. Secondary spinal cord injury is related to ischemia, excitotoxicity, inflammation, edema, oxidative damage, and activation of necrotic and apoptotic cell death; it begins within minutes after injury and continues for weeks.

Assignment Instructions:

Describe an injury. Some learners will use the same injury, such as a fall off of a horse. Describe how the patient experienced both primary and secondary injuries. Be sure to describe symptoms, implications, and testing that helped clinicians to classify the injury into these categories. 

Part 2: 

For this assignment you will be able to create an infographic or video presentation and upload it here for grading.

Assignment Instructions:

1. Select one of the topics below.

• Alterations in Cognitive Systems, (Chapter 16, p. 351)
• Alterations in Cerebral Hemodynamics, (Chapter 16, p. 367)
• Alterations in Neuromotor Function (Chapter 16, p. 370)
• Central Nervous System Disorders (Chapter 17, p. 384)
• Peripheral Nervous System Disorders (Chapter 17, p. 405)
• Tumors of the Central Nervous System (Chapter 17, p. 406)
• Alterations of Neurologic Function in Children (Chapter 18, p. 414)