Locate Neurological
Lesions Guide
Lesions Guide
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© 2012 T. F. Fletcher
vanat.cvm.umn.edu
© 2012 T. F. Fletcher
- paralysis or plegia = loss of voluntary muscle control
- paresis = partial paralysis = weakness of voluntary muscle activity
- hypermetria = exaggerated protraction & retraction of the limb during gait (goose-step limb movement)
- ataxia = malposition of foot-fall placement during gait
- intention tremor = involuntary oscillation of body parts during posture or movement (body swaying; head/neck oscillation)
- nystagmus = repetitive eye oscillation, movement slowly away from center gaze then more quickly back to center. (Vestibular nystagmus is a reflex response to imbalanced vestibular input, resulting from normal head acceleration or from a unilateral lesions.)
- opisthotonus = severe persistent dorsally arched head and back, can result from cerebellar cortical damage or strychnine poisoning. (opisthotonus = Gr. "drawn backward")
- neuromodulation = refers to the relatively prolonged excitatory or inhibitory influence of certain agents (acetycholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, or serotonin) on neuronal circuits. Most neuromodulation nuclei are found in the midbrain and pons. The nuclei are small, but axons from the nuclei are highly branched and widely distributed to broad regions of brain and spinal cord. (Substantia nigra dopamine modulation is essential for movements to occur.)
This Guide is intended for veterinary students preparing to diagnose locations of neurological lesions based on clinical signs and their knowledge of neuroanatomy.
The Guide context is canine and feline neuroanatomy and lesions that produce severe destructive damage.
The Guide offers a review of neuroanatomy components/regions and an assortment of typical syndromes produced by destructive neurological lesion.
The neuroanatomy section contains images. Tap a small image to see it enlarged. Tap a large image to toggle (show/hide) its labels.
This Guide is a web app designed for smartphones, but viewable with tablets or computers. A web site that includes clincial cases for practicing lesion diagnosis is available at: http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/locLesion/ (it requires a Flash Player plug-in).