Unit 9: Disorders and Conditions Resulting from Trauma Kaplan University HS200 Marsha L. Wilson, M.Ed.

Agenda Spinal Cord Injuries Comprehensive Exam

Spinal Cord Injuries According to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, there are about 5.6 million people in the United States with a spinal cord injury. 4,000 to 5,000 people in the US are paralyzed from the neck, down, due to cervical spine injury every year.

Areas of Innervation Bodily functions are controlled by nerves at various levels along the vertebral column.

Spinal Cord Location by Vertebrae

Quadriplegia or Paraplegia  Cervical (neck) injuries usually result in quadriplegia. Injuries above the C-4 level may require a ventilator for the person to breathe.  C-5 injuries often result in shoulder and biceps control, but no control at the wrist or hand.  C-6 injuries generally yield wrist control, but no hand function.  Individuals with C-7 and T-1 injuries can straighten their arms but still may have dexterity problems with the hand and fingers. Injuries at the thoracic level and below result in paraplegia, with the hands not affected.  At T-1 to T-8 there is most often control of the hands, but poor trunk control as the result of lack of abdominal muscle control.  Lower T-injuries (T-9 to T-12) allow good truck control and good abdominal muscle control. Sitting balance is very good. Lumbar and Sacral injuries yield decreasing control of the hip flexors and legs.

Level of Injury The level of injury is very helpful in predicting what parts of the body might be affected by paralysis and loss of function. Remember that in incomplete injuries there will be some variation in these prognoses.

Additional Physiological Changes  Besides a loss of sensation or motor functioning, individuals with SCI also experience other changes. For example, they may experience dysfunction of the bowel and bladder,.  Sexual functioning is frequently with SCI may have their fertility affected, while women's fertility is generally not affected.  Very high injuries (C-1, C-2) can result in a loss of many involuntary functions including the ability to breathe, necessitating breathing aids such as mechanical ventilators or diaphragmatic pacemakers.  Other effects of SCI may include low blood pressure, inability to regulate blood pressure effectively, reduced control of body temperature, inability to sweat below the level of injury, and chronic pain

Comprehensive Exam HS200: Diseases of the Human Body

Reminders:  The Final Exam is a 100-point test consisting of multiple choice, true/false, and matching questions. You will have 3 hours to complete this Exam. (This means that you do not have time to look up each answer!) This Exam is due by the end of Week 10 of the course.  The Exam will cover the entire course; it includes everything that was covered in the required readings, lessons, activities, seminar, and discussion boards for Units 5-9.  This Exam may only be submitted once and must be taken in one sitting; you may not log out and log back in.

Read ALL of the instructions below carefully prior to attempting to take your Exam.  1.Select the best answer for each question.  2.When you have responded to the questions on the page, click "Save Answers"  3.Click on the next page at the top of the screen.  4.There are multiple pages in this Exam. Be sure to complete all pages before submitting the Exam.  5.You may come back to questions on different pages if you are not sure about an answer and want to reconsider it later.  6.Check your time on the clock in the top right corner of the Exam window.  7.After you are satisfied with your responses, click on "Submit for Grade" to receive your score and Exam review.  8.Most of all, good luck and keep thinking!

Study Guide Your best Study Guide is your Workbook. Workbook Answers are available in Doc Sharing on the classroom page.

Wrap-up Participate in Discussion Complete Final Comprehensive Exam May the Force Be With You!