Glossary of terms E-H
Efferent Nerve:
A nerve that carries impulses away from the central nervous system (CNS). An efferent nerve is the opposite of an afferent nerves that carries impulses toward the CNS.
Element:
Simple substances which can not be decomposed by chemical means.
EMG:
Electromyography, or EMG, is a test used to assess electrical activity of muscles. Muscular movement involves the action of muscles and nerves via the utilisation of an electrical current. In MND the electrical activity of the muscles or nerves is affected. Finding and describing these electrical properties in the muscle or nerve helps confirm a diagnosis.
Enzyme:
A protein that increase the rate of a chemical reaction in the body.
Fasciculations:
Small, involuntary, irregular, visible contractions of individual muscle fibers. Often seen in the legs, arms, shoulders and tongue.
Feeding tubes:
A feeding tube is a medical device used to provide nutrition to patients who cannot obtain adequate daily calorie intake by swallowing. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes are most commonly used. Tubes are inserted while the person is sedated and is placed with the aid of an endoscope, to assist in guiding the placement of the tube through the wall of the stomach.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD):
A disorder characterized by cognitive, behavioral, and sometimes motor abnormalities reflecting degeneration of the brain, anterior frontal and temporal regions, basal ganglia, and motor neurons.
Gene:
A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity, consisting of a segment of DNA arranged in a linear manner along a chromosome. Genes carry out instructions to make molecules called proteins. Every person has two copies of each gene, one of which is inherited from each parent.
Genetic:
Inherited; having to do with information that is passed from parents to offspring through genes in sperm and egg cells.
Hyperreflexia:
Excessive response of muscle reflexes when a stimulus is applied. Overactive and exagerrated reflexes.
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