Capacity, Mental - Refers to the amount of information or mental processing a person can attend to within a given time. [Click Here to Return to List]

Capnometer - A device to monitor the patient's carbon dioxide levels to assist in providing the appropriate ventilation. [Click Here to Return to List]

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - A colorless gas, heavier than air. In small quantities in inhaled air, it stimulates respiration. Careful monitoring of the carbon dioxide levels in the blood is necessary for the brain injured patient. Increases carbon dioxide levels have been shown to increase swelling in the brain and the TBI patient must be "hyperventilated" (maintained with purposely decreased levels of CO2) to prevent brain swelling. [Click Here to Return to List]

Case Management - Facilitating the access of a patient to appropriate medical, rehabilitation and support programs, and coordination of the delivery of services. This role may involve liaison with various professionals and agencies, advocacy on behalf of the patient, and arranging for purchase of services where no appropriate programs are available. [Click Here to Return to List]

Catheter - A flexible tube for withdrawing fluids from, or introducing fluids into, a cavity of the body. Frequently used to drain the urinary bladder (Foley catheter). [Click Here to Return to List]

Cerebellum - The portion of the brain (located at the back) which helps coordinate movement. Damage may result in ataxia. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cerebral Angiography - The brain substance is pushed aside and compressed by the presence of a brain tumor, aneurysm, swelling or hematoma. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cerebral Compression - The brain substance is pushed aside and compressed by the presence of a brain tumor, aneurysm, swelling or hematoma. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cerebral Infarct - When the blood supply is reduced below a critical level to a specific region of the brain and the brain tissue in that region dies. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cerebral-spinal Fluid (CSF) - Liquid which fills the ventricles of the brain and surrounds the brain and spinal cord. [Click Here to Return to List]

Chemically Dependent - Addiction to chemical agents such as prescription medicines, drugs or alcohol. [Click Here to Return to List]

Chemotherapy - The treatment of a condition such as cancer by the systematic administration of chemical compounds. [Click Here to Return to List]

Chest Tubes - Tubes inserted into the patient's chest between the lung and ribs to allow fluid and air to drain from the area surrounding the lungs. Removing this fluid and air from around the lungs allows them to more fully expand. [Click Here to Return to List]

Chronic - Marked by long duration or frequent recurrence. [Click Here to Return to List]

Chronic Care - Long-term care for those individual who require medical care, a maintenance program to prevent deterioration of skills, and to provide recreational and social opportunities in a structured environment. Emphasis is on sustaining a reasonable quality of life, and expectations regarding improvements in abilities are limited. [Click Here to Return to List]

Circumlocution - Use of other words to describe a specific word or idea which cannot be remembered. [Click Here to Return to List]

Claim - See Terms and Definitions related to Insurance. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cleft Lip - Specific congenital anomaly involving incomplete fusion of the lip and gum in the midline of the face. The term (hare lip) is anatomically incorrect and possibly stigmatizing. [Click Here to Return to List]

Client - A person under the protection of another, one who engages the professional advice or services of another. See Consumer and Patient. [Click Here to Return to List]

Clonus - A sustained series of rhythmic jerks following quick stretch of a muscle. [Click Here to Return to List]

Closed Head Injury - See Brain Injury, Closed. [Click Here to Return to List]

Congenital Disability - A disability that has existed since birth but is not necessarily hereditary. The term birth defect is less desirable. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cognition - The conscious process of knowing or being aware of thoughts or perceptions, including understanding and reasoning. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cognitive Impairment - Difficulty with one or more of the basic functions of the brain: perception, memory, attentional abilities, and reasoning skills. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cognitive Rehabilitation - Therapy programs which aid persons in the management of specific problems in perception, memory, thinking and problem solving. Skills are practiced and strategies are taught to help improve function and/or compensate for remaining deficits. The interventions are based on an assessment and understanding of the person's brain-behavior deficits and services are provided by qualified practitioners. [Click Here to Return to List]

Coinsurance - See Terms and Definitions related to Insurance. [Click Here to Return to List]

Coma - A state of unconsciousness from which the patient cannot be awakened or aroused, even by powerful stimulation; lack of any response to one's environment. Defined clinically as an inability to follow a one-step command consistently; Glasgow Coma Scale score of eight or less. [Click Here to Return to List]

Coma Management Program - See Options for Rehabilitation Facilities under Discharge. [Click Here to Return to List]

Coma Vigil - A patient who has no meaningful interaction with his or her environment but exhibits sleep and wake cycles, spontaneous respiration and heart beat. See Persistent Vegetative State. [Click Here to Return to List]

Commensurate Wage - A wage paid to a disabled worker which is comparable to wages paid to a non-disabled worker in the vicinity, performing similar work at a specific quality level, with the quality factor being the main variable. [Click Here to Return to List]

Communicative Disorder - An impairment in the ability to 1) receive and/or process a symbol system, 2) represent concepts or symbol systems, and/or 3) transmit and use symbol systems. The impairment may be observed in disorders of hearing, language, and/or speech processes. [Click Here to Return to List]

Community Alternatives - Agencies, outside an institutional setting, which provide care, support, and/or services to persons with disabilities. [Click Here to Return to List]

Community Based Programs - Programs for disabled which are located in a community environment, as opposed to an institutional setting. [Click Here to Return to List]

Community Resources - Public or private agencies, schools, or programs offering services, usually funded by governmental bodies, community drives, donations, and fees. [Click Here to Return to List]

Community Skills - Those abilities needed to function independently in the community. They may include: telephone skills, money management, pedestrian skills, use of public transportation, meal planning and cooking. [Click Here to Return to List]

Competitive Bid - An agreement to perform specified work under specified conditions and for a specified price which has been determined through the use of the same cost estimating procedures as those of competitive private industrial concerns. [Click Here to Return to List]

Comprehension - Understanding of spoken, written, or gestural communication. [Click Here to Return to List]

Concentration - Maintaining attention on a task over a period of time; remaining attentive and not easily diverted. [Click Here to Return to List]

Concrete Thinking - A style of thinking in which the individual sees each situation as unique and is unable to generalize from the similarities between situations. Language and perceptions are interpreted literally so that a proverb such as "a stitch in time saves nine" cannot be readily grasped. [Click Here to Return to List]

Concussion - The common result of a blow to the head or sudden deceleration usually causing an altered mental state, either temporary or prolonged. Physiologic and/or anatomic disruption of connections between some nerve cells in the brain may occur. Often used by the public to refer to a brief loss of consciousness. [Click Here to Return to List]

Confabulation - Verbalizations about people, places, and events with no basis in reality. May be a detailed account delivered. [Click Here to Return to List]

Confusion - A state in which a person is bewildered, perplexed or unable to self-orient. [Click Here to Return to List]

Conjugate Movement - Both eyes move simultaneously in the same direction. Convergence of the eyes toward the midline (crossed eyes) is a disconjugate movement. [Click Here to Return to List]

Consciousness - The state of awareness of the self and the environment. [Click Here to Return to List]

Consumer, Health Care - An individual who, by reason of disability, is eligible for, may require, has received, or is the recipient of some kind of human service, including such services as medical, rehabilitation, housing, transportation. (Also, see Client and Patient.) [Click Here to Return to List]

Continent - The ability to control urination and bowel movements. [Click Here to Return to List]

Contracture - Loss of range of motion in a joint due to abnormal shortening of soft tissues. [Click Here to Return to List]

Contralateral - Opposite side. [Click Here to Return to List]

Control of Attention - Control refers to a person's ability to guide the selective process by directing and organizing whatever attentional capacity he or she has. [Click Here to Return to List]

Contusion, Brain - A bruise. The result of a blow to the head which bruises the brain. [Click Here to Return to List]

Convergence - Movement of two eyeballs inward to focus on an object moved closer. The nearer the object, the greater is the degree of convergence necessary to maintain single vision. [Click Here to Return to List]

Coping Skills - The ability to deal with problems and difficulties by attempting to overcome them or accept them. [Click Here to Return to List]

Core Therapies, Brain Injury - Basic therapy services provided by professionals on a brain injury rehabilitation unit. Usually refers to nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, neuropsychology, social work and therapeutic recreation. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cortical Blindness - Loss of vision resulting from a lesion of the primary visual areas of the occipital lobe. Light reflex is preserved. [Click Here to Return to List]

Contrecoup - Bruising of the brain tissue on the side opposite where the blow was struck. [Click Here to Return to List]

Coup damage - Damage to the brain at the point of impact. [Click Here to Return to List]

CT Scan/Computerized Axial Tomography - A series of X-rays taken at different levels of the brain that allows the direct visualization of the skull and intracranial structures. A scan is often taken soon after the injury to help decide if surgery is needed. The scan may be repeated later to see how the brain is recovering. [Click Here to Return to List]

Cue - A signal or direction used to assist a person in performing an activity (telling a person the initial of your first name serves as a cue when he or she cannot remember your name.) [Click Here to Return to List]