Glossary

Involuntary, rhythmic muscle contractions due to a lesion of the upper motor neurons.  An extreme state of hyperreflexia.

Compound motor (muscle) action potential. The composite electrical activity in a muscle that has been simultaneously stimulated by a group of motor neurons (nerve fibers) within a motor nerve.

Cystometrogram.  A diagnostic procedure used to evaluate bladder function.  It measures the pressure within the bladder as a function of the volume of fluid within the bladder.

Cytomeglovirus or human herpesvirus-5

Cranial nerve(s)

The central nervous system. The brain and spinal cord. These structures receives and integrates information from the body via the peripheral nervous system and coordinates the activity of the elements of the body.

First described by the orthopedist John R Cobb, the Cobb angle is the angle between a line drawn parallel to the end plate of the rostral most vertebral body in spinal curve and a line drawn parallel to the end plate of the caudal most vertebral body of a spinal curve. It was originally used to describe a curve seen on a coronal view of the spine on X-ray. More recently it has also been used to describe sagittal spinal curvature, especially those seen after trauma.

Unilateral or Bilateral retraction of the eyelids.due to a midbrain lesion

Ocular convergence spasm – A rare condition where the eyes intermittently turn inward or converge towards each other.

Refers to the ratio of the diameter of the spinal cord to the diameter of the thecal or CSF sac surrounding the cord at a designated level of the spine.  Typically this is used when evaluating a level for risk of tethering due to constriction by the dura of the CSF space surrounding the spinal cord. The cord-sac ratio is obtained by dividing the sagittal diameter of the spinal cord by the sagittal diameter of the expanded thecal sac.