Term
| clinical findings suggestive of a cervical cord injury in an unconscious patient |
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Definition
flaccid tone and areflexia especially of spinchter
diagphramatic breathing
at elbow: passive flexion but not extension
grimaces to pain above but NOT below clavicle
hypotension and bradycardiia
pripism (uncommon but characteristic sign) |
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Term
| explain pathophysiology of neurogenic shock causing hypotension and bradycardia |
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Definition
due to injury to descending sympathetic pathway in SC
causes loss of vasomotor tone and sympathetic innervation to heart
loss of vasomotor tone = increases intravascular pooling of blood and consequently hypotension
loss of sympathetic input to heart means it can't increase HR this is why we get bradycardia.
in clinical practise this means that BP cannot be restored by fluids alone and we may need to use vasopressors |
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Term
| which type of soul fracture do you get CSF rhinorrhoea with? |
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Definition
Anterior skull fracture
Orbital heamatoma is another localising sign. |
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Term
| if you see battle's sign or CSF ottorhoea, which part of the skull is the fracture? |
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Definition
| middle fossa or temporal bone fracture |
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