Neuro anatomy
This protective membrane surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
What are the meninges?
Preterm infants are at risk for bleeding in this area.
What is the germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH)?
A bulging fontanel in a neonate may indicate this.
What is increased intracranial pressure?
Cooling therapy is used to treat this brain injury.
What is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)?
This developmental domain includes skills such as tracking objects visually and recognizing faces.
What is the cognitive/visual domain?
The largest part of a newborn’s brain, responsible for higher functions.
What is the cerebrum?
This infection can cause seizures, poor feeding, and lethargy in NICU babies.
What is meningitis?
This scoring system is used to assess newborn health at 1 and 5 minutes after birth.
What is the Apgar score?
This anticonvulsant is commonly used for neonatal seizures.
What is phenobarbital?
Babies born before this gestational age are at highest risk for major neurodevelopmental impairment.
What is 28 weeks gestation?
The posterior fontanel closes earlier than this larger soft spot.
What is the anterior fontanel?
Sudden jerking movements in a newborn may be this diagnosis.
What are neonatal seizures?
This type of head ultrasound is performed through the anterior fontanel.
What is cranial ultrasound?
Head positioning and avoiding high-velocity flushes of IVs help reduce risk of this condition in preterm babies.
What is intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH)?
This NICU practice, involving skin-to-skin contact, has been shown to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.
What is kangaroo care?
This structure connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
What is the corpus callosum?
This condition refers to decreased muscle tone sometimes seen in NICU babies.
What is hypotonia?
NICU babies are often monitored for episodes of this, characterized by lack of breathing.
What is apnea?
This vitamin is given to prevent bleeding in newborns, including possible brain bleeds.
What is vitamin K?
Frequent episodes of this in the NICU (characterized by low oxygen or heart rate) are associated with poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes in preemies.
What are apnea and desaturation events?
The brainstem controls these essential functions.
What are breathing, heart rate, and arousal?
This congenital neural tube defect may result in paralysis below the level of the lesion.
What is spina bifida?
Continuous EEG monitoring may be used to detect these.
What are seizures?
This cooling therapy is used to reduce neurologic injury after hypoxic-ischemic events in term infants.
What is therapeutic hypothermia (whole-body or selective head cooling)?
Babies exposed to this substance in utero may be at increased risk for attention, learning, and behavioral challenges later in childhood.
What is alcohol (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) or opioids (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome)?