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Brain Injury Glossary
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- Decerebrate Posture
- Exaggerated posture of extension as a result of a lesion to the prepontine area of the brain stem, and is rarely seen fully developed in humans. In reporting, it is preferable to describe the posture seen.
- Decerebration
- Removal of the brain or cutting the spinal cord at the level of the brain stem.
- Decubitus
- Pressure area, bed sore, skin opening, skin breakdown. A discolored or open area of skin damage caused by pressure. Common areas most prone to breakdown are buttocks or backside, hips, shoulder blades, heels, ankles and elbows.
- Delusions
- Thought disturbances; hallucinations.
- Dementia
- Mental deterioration due to an organic cause.
- Demyelination
- The loss of nerve fiber "insulation" due to trauma or disease, which reduces the ability of nerves to conduct impulses (as in multiple sclerosis and some types of spinal cord injury). Some intact but non working nerve fibers might be coaxed into remyelination, or re-firing, thus restoring function.
- Demoralized
- Crushed; overcome; stricken.
- Dendrite
- Microscopic fibers extending from the axon of a nerve cell (neuron) that serve as receptors of electrochemical impulses. The total length of dendrites within the human brain exceeds several hundred thousand miles.
- Denial
- Defense mechanism allowing an individual to maintain that a problem has been resolved with an increase in personal competence, although the problem still remains. It protects against physical or emotional conflict or loss. Many rehab professionals over ascribe denial to their patients. Hoping for functional improvement should not be misunderstood as denying disability.
- Depression
- An abnormal emotional state in which the individual experiences an exaggerated feeling of sadness, worthlessness and hopelessness, inappropriate and out of proportion to some personal loss or tragedy.
- Destabilization
- An abnormal emotional response to physical or mental trauma in which the individual is rendered unable to adjust to his or her normal roles. Individuals who become psychologically destabilized can manifest subjective cognitive impairments that mimic brain injury.
- Diagnosis
- Identification of a disease or condition by a scientific evaluation of physical signs, symptoms, history, as well as laboratory tests and procedures.
- Diencephalon
- This area houses the hypothalamus, which regulates appetite, sleep, and body temperature.
- Diffuse
- Widely spread.
- Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)
- A shearing injury of large nerve fibers (axons covered with myelin) in many areas of the brain. It appears to be one of the two primary lesions of brain injury, the other being stretching or shearing of blood vessels from the same forces, producing hemorrhage.
- Diffuse Brain Injury
- Injury to cells in many areas of the brain rather than in one specific location.
- Diminished Ability to Abstract
- Lack of flexibility and adaptability to use ideas and generalizations.
- Diplopia
- Double vision.
- Disability
- The loss, absence or impairment of physical or mental fitness that can be seen or measured.
- Discharge Planning
- Preparation for life after rehab, including insurance and legal issues, home adaptation, and community support issues.
- Discipline
- When referring to health care or education it means a particular field of study, such as medicine, occupational therapy, nursing, recreation therapy or others.
- Discrimination, Sensory
- A process requiring differentiation of two or more stimuli.
- Disinhibition
- Inability to suppress (inhibit) impulsive behavior and emotions.
- Disorientation
- Not knowing where you are, who you are, or the current date. Health professionals often speak of a normal person as being oriented "times three" which refers to person, place and time.
- Distractibility
- Inability to maintain attention; over-reaction to stimuli.
- DLS
- Daily Living Skills.
- Dorsal Root
- The collection of nerves entering the dorsal section (on the back) of a spinal cord segment. These roots share central and peripheral nerve connections, and enter the spinal cord in an area called the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ).
- Dorsiflexion
- When applied to the ankle, the ability to bend at the ankle, moving the front of the foot upward.
- Dura Mater
- The outermost of three membranes protecting the brain and spinal cord, it is tough and leather-like.
- Dysarthria
- Difficulty in forming words or speaking them because of weakness of muscles used in speaking or because of disruption in the neuromotor stimulus patterns required for accuracy and velocity of speech.
- Dysphagia
- A swallowing disorder characterized by difficulty in oral preparation for the swallow, or in moving material from the mouth to the stomach. This also includes problems in positioning food in the mouth.
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