The loss of the sense of smell, which can follow head trauma or come with aging, is called anosmia.
Missing Word
anosmia
Anosmia is the loss of smell, found when the olfactory nerve is tested with familiar odors. Food tastes bland in anosmia even though taste receptors still work.
Category: Cranial Nerve Exam
Question 2
Paralysis affecting one side of the body is called hemiplegia.
Missing Word
hemiplegia
Hemiplegia is paralysis of one side of the body, a motor exam finding that helps localize damage to one side of the brain or spinal cord.
Category: Motor Exam
Question 3
The ability to recognize letters or numbers traced on the palm with the eyes closed is called graphesthesia.
Missing Word
graphesthesia
Graphesthesia is the recognition of symbols drawn on the skin and depends on the parietal cortex. It is one of the gnosis tasks in the mental status exam.
Category: Sensorium
Question 4
Carrying out a sequence of movements from verbal instructions alone, without a demonstration, tests a function called praxis.
Missing Word
praxis
Praxis is the ability to perform skilled, purposeful movements on command. Testing without a demonstration shows whether verbal instructions can be turned into the correct motor plan.
Category: Sensorium
Question 5
The sense of body and limb position, tested in the Romberg test when the patient closes the eyes, is called proprioception.
Missing Word
proprioception
Proprioception is the sense of where the body and limbs are in space. With the eyes closed, balance depends on it, so swaying in the Romberg test suggests a proprioceptive deficit.
Category: Gait Exam
Question 6
Double vision, which can occur when one eye fails to adduct in internuclear ophthalmoplegia, is called diplopia.
Missing Word
diplopia
Diplopia is double vision. It results when the two eyes do not move together, as when damage to the medial longitudinal fasciculus keeps one eye from adducting.
Category: Eye Movements
Question 7
Rapid, jumping horizontal eye movements that are initiated by the paramedian pontine reticular formation are called saccades.
Missing Word
saccades
Saccades are quick shifts of gaze from one point to another. The paramedian pontine reticular formation in the pons triggers horizontal saccades.
Category: Eye Movements
Question 8
The optic disc at the back of the eye is examined with a handheld lighted instrument called an ophthalmoscope.
Missing Word
ophthalmoscope
An ophthalmoscope shines light through the pupil so the examiner can view the retina and optic disc during the optic nerve exam.
Category: Vision Testing
Question 9
Loss of coordination of voluntary movements caused by cerebellar dysfunction is called ataxia.
Missing Word
ataxia
Ataxia is uncoordinated voluntary movement, most often from cerebellar damage. Alcohol, strokes, tumors and multiple sclerosis can all cause it.
Category: Coordination Exam
Question 10
The narrow midline region of the cerebellum, which functions as part of the spinocerebellum and controls axial muscles, is called the vermis.
Missing Word
vermis
The vermis is the midline strip of the cerebellum. It receives spinal input from the dorsal column and spinocerebellar pathways and helps control posture and gait.
Category: Coordination Exam
Question 11
An area of skin supplied by the sensory fibers of a single spinal nerve is called a dermatome.
Missing Word
dermatome
A dermatome is the skin region served by one spinal nerve. Mapping which dermatomes have lost sensation helps localize spinal cord or nerve root damage.
Category: Sensory Exam
Question 12
The genioglossus muscle, supplied by the hypoglossal nerve, protrudes the tongue.
Missing Word
genioglossus
The genioglossus is the tongue muscle that pushes the tongue forward. Asking the patient to stick out the tongue tests it and the hypoglossal nerve.
Category: Cranial Nerve Exam
Question 13
Changing the shape of the lens to focus on a near object, controlled by parasympathetic fibers of the oculomotor nerve, is called accommodation.
Missing Word
accommodation
Accommodation is the adjustment of lens curvature for near vision. It occurs together with convergence of the eyes when looking at something close.
Category: Pupillary Reflex
Question 14
An inability to recognize familiar faces, linked to damage in the fusiform gyrus, is called prosopagnosia.
Missing Word
prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia is face blindness. It can follow a stroke that damages the fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe.
Category: Exam Overview
Question 15
Touch and pain sensation from the face is carried by the trigeminal nerve.
Missing Word
trigeminal
The trigeminal nerve, cranial nerve V, carries general sensation from the face. It is tested with a cotton tip for light touch and a sharp tip for pain.
Category: Cranial Nerve Exam