Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Chronic pain resulting from injury to the nervous system. The injury can be to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) or the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord). Neuropathic pain can occur after trauma and many diseases such as multiple sclerosis and stroke. It is common and affects more than 2 million people in the US alone. This type of pain is…

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a substance that has been detected in patients with certain tumors, namely: neuroblastoma, small cell lung cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, carcinoid tumors, pancreatic endocrine tumors, and melanoma. Studies of NSE as a tumor marker have concentrated primarily on patients with neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer. Measurement of NSE levels in patients with these two…

Pertaining to both nerves and muscles, as in neuromuscular blockade by an anesthetic agent, the neuromuscular junction (the meeting place of a nerve and a muscle fiber), and neuromuscular transmission (the transfer of “information” from the nerve to the muscle).

The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system, which includes the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves.

Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurological exam.

A term that refers to the effects of antipsychotic drugs on a patient, especially on his or her cognition and behavior. Neuroleptic drugs may produce a state of apathy, lack of initiative and limited range of emotion. In psychotic patients, neuroleptic drugs cause a reduction in confusion and agitation and tend to normalize psychomotor activity. The term comes…

A type of shock (a life-threatening medical condition in which there is insufficient blood flow throughout the body) that is caused by the sudden loss of signals from the sympathetic nervous system that maintain the normal muscle tone in blood vessel walls. The blood vessels relax and become dilated, resulting in pooling of the blood in the venous system…

Giving rise to or arising from the nerves or the nervous system. For example, neurogenic pain is pain that originates in the nerves, as opposed to muscle pain, bone pain, etc.

An illness of the nervous system caused by genetic, metabolic, or other biological factors. Many illnesses categorized as psychiatric disorders are neurobiological, including autism, bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome.

Pain along the course of a nerve.