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Common brain injury terms

This section is designed to provide a glossary of terms, explaining some of the different words you might hear when reading information on, or talking about, brain injury.

Series of CT brain scan images showing cross-sectional views of the head and brain.

If you need any further information, or have heard a word that is not included here, please contact our helpline who will be happy to discuss this with you.

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11 terms starting with A

  • Acceleration/deceleration

    A CLOSED HEAD INJURY often sustained in car accidents, where the brain smashes forwards and then backwards, rebounding against the walls of the skull, causing damage to both the FRONTAL LOBES and the back of the brain.

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  • Amnesia

    Failure of memory. (also see POST TRAUMATIC AMNESIA) - amnesia following a traumatic event)

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  • Aneurysm

    Swelling or dilation of an artery due to a weakened wall. Also spelled 'Aneurism'.

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  • Anomia

    The inability to name objects or items.

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  • Anoxia

    Complete oxygen starvation. A condition in which the oxygen supply to the tissues is cut off completely. Partial loss of oxygen supply to the tissues is known as HYPOXIA.

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  • Apathy

    A direct result of brain injury to frontal lobe structures which concern emotion, motivation and forward planning.

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  • Apraxia/Dyspraxia

    Inability to plan and perform purposeful movements, while still having the ability to move and be aware of movements.

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  • Arachnoid

    The middle of the three membranes covering and protecting the brain and spinal cord. The arachnoid membrane lies below the DURA mater and directly above the SUBARACHNOID SPACE.

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  • Arterial line

    A very thin tube (catheter) inserted into an artery to allow direct measurement of the blood pressure, the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.

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  • Athetosis

    Abnormal writhing movements, particularly of the hands, seen in a number of brain disorders and following brain injury.

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  • Axon/dendrites

    Parts of nerve cells in the brain which look like small hair-like tentacles. The cells receive information via the dendrites and communicate with each other by passing electrical signals down the axons and releasing chemical signals at their ends.

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