BI Tools
Brain Injury Glossary
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T
- Tactile Defensiveness
- Being overly sensitive to touch; withdrawing, crying, yelling or striking when one is touched.
- Task Analysis
- Breakdown of a particular job into its component parts; information gained from task analysis can be utilized to develop training curricula or to price a product or service.
- Temporal Lobes
- There are two temporal lobes, one on each side of the brain located at about the level of the ears. These lobes allow a person to tell one smell from another and one sound from another. They also help in sorting new information and are believed to be responsible for short-term memory. The right lobe predominately is involved with visual memory (i.e., memory for pictures and faces), and the left lobe delegates verbal memory (i.e., memory for words and names).
- Tendon Lengthening
- A procedure, usually involving the Achilles tendon, to treat contractures caused by spasms.
- Tenodesis (Hand Splint)
- Metal or plastic support for hand, wrist and/or fingers. Used to facilitate grater function to a disabled hand by transferring wrist extension into grip and finger control.
- Thoracic
- Pertaining to the chest, vertebrae or spinal cord segments between the cervical and lumbar areas.
- Thalamus
- An area of the brain that relays impulses along the sensory pathway.
- Thrombophlebitis
- A clot in a vein due to diminished blood flow which can occur in a paralyzed leg. Symptoms include swelling and redness.
- Tic
- An involuntary muscle spasm.
- Tilt Table
- A motorized table which is used to gradually increase patients tolerance to being in a standing position. Also used to teach partial weight bearing and to give prolonged stretch in each position.
- Tracheostomy
- A temporary surgical opening at the front of the throat providing access to the trachea or windpipe to assist in breathing.
- Tracking, Visual
- Visually following an object as it moves through space.
- Transitional Living
- Non-medical residential program providing training for living in a setting of greater independence. The primary focus is on teaching functional skills and compensating for abilities that cannot be restored.
- Tremor, Intention
- Course, rhythmical movements of a body part that become intensified the harder one tries to control them.
- Tremor, Resting
- Rhythmical movements present at rest and may be diminished during voluntary movement.
- Trigeminal Nerve
- A nerve that delivers sensory impulses to the brain from the teeth, tongue and face.
U
- Unilateral Neglect
- Paying little or no attention to things on one side of the body. This usually occurs on the side opposite from the location of the injury to the brain because nerve fibers from the brain typically cross before innervating body structures. In extreme cases, the patient may not bathe, dress or acknowledge one side of the body.
- Upper Motor Neurons
- Long nerve cells that originate in the brain and travel in tracts through the spinal cord. Any injury to these nerves cuts off contact with brain control. Reflex activity is still intact, however resulting in spasticity. For men with upper motor neuron injuries, reflex erections are possible.
- Urinary Tract Infection
- When bacteria have reproduced to a large number in the bladder. This can cause fever, chills, burning on urination, urgency, frequency, incontinence or foul smelling urine.
