Neurological Exam Overview for Neurology Neurosurgery Clerkship
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Transcript Neurological Exam Overview for Neurology Neurosurgery Clerkship
Neurological Examination
Indiana University
Department of Neurology
Overview
Learn / do in organized sequence
General
Vital signs: wt, pulse , BP, temp ( respirations)
Skin for café au lait, meningococcal purpura, splinter
hemorrhages
Measure OFC ( head size) in kids
Listen for bruits in neck ( carotid or vertebral arteries)
Neurological exam
Mental status
Cranial nerves
Motor exam
Cerebellar
Sensory
Station & Gait
Mental Status
Level of consciousness
Orientation
Alert
Sleepy but awakens to verbal prompting ( Lethargic)
Unresponsive to painful stimuli ( Comatose)
To person, place, time, situation
Speech & Language
Normal
Dysarthric (slurred, nasal)
Use of language in symbolic sense
Fluency, comprehension, repetition
Aphasia: expressive (Broca)/ receptive (Wernicke)
Mental Status
Parietal Functions
Spatial
orientation ( R
/L)
Construction
Calculation
Stereognosis
Gnosis (awareness)
agnosagnosia
CN I Olfactory nerve
Check each nostril
individually with patient’s
eyes closed
Use coffee, mint, vanilla,
clove
Not ammonia (checks V2)
Anosmia in
head trauma
frontal lobe tumor
Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s
Optic System: Overview
Functions:
Data acquisition &
transmission
Camera control
Eye
lids
Eye movements
Focus
CN II Optic nerve
Visual acuity
Visual fields
Pupillary light reflex
CN
2 Afferent
CN 3 Efferent
Funduscopic exam
Visual acuity
Visual acuity
Corrected (with glasses)
OS left
OD right
Ask patient to start at top
read down the chart
VA is last line read correctly
Visual fields
Pt looks at your forehead
Check each eye alone
Keep equidistance
between you and patient
Count fingers in the 4
visual field quadrants
Bring in your finger
inward from beyond your
periphery to define pts
field
Pupillary light reflex
Direct and consensual
Observe
pupil size ( mm)
Shine light into eye from off center
Observe for pupillary constriction in stimulated &
opposite eye
Accomodation
As
pt looks at close target; eyes converge and pupils
constrict
Relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD)
Light
in abnl eye after good eye shows pupil dilation
rather than constriction
Present with optic nerve lesions
Relative afferent pupillary defect
Fundoscopy (ophthalmoscope)
Optic disk ( optic
nerve head)
Retinal vessels
Retina
CN II Optic Nerve
Normal
Papilledema
CN III (oculomotor), IV (trochlear),
VI (abducens)
Are the eyes
conjugate
Puplliary function
Evaluate motility
Horizontal
Vertical
Oblique
Disorders
Nerve
( nucleus)
Intra-nuclear
Supra-nuclear
Extraocular muscles and their actions
•CN III (Oculomotor nerve)
•Superior rectus:
•elevation when the eye is aBducted
•Inferior rectus:
•depression when the eye is aBducted
•Medial rectus: aDduction
•Inferior oblique:
•elevation when the eye is aDducted
•CN IV (Trochlear nerve)
•Superior oblique:
•depression when the eye is aDducted
•CN VI (Abducens nerve)
•Lateral rectus: aBduction
CN III—lesion causes eye motility problems, ptosis
and mydriasis (enlarged pupil)
Third nerve palsy
Eye is “down and out”
Pupil
abnormal
Compression by uncal
herniation or
P-com aneurysm
Pupil
normal
Nerve infarction
Left IV nerve palsy
Left hypertropia
Right head tilt….What
about the doll’s eyes?
INO (Internuclear ophthalmoplegia)
Medial Longitudinal Fasciculus ( MLF) Lesion
CN V
Trigeminal
Sensory to face and
anterior scalp
Blink reflex
Motor to muscles of
mastication
(masseter/temporalis)
Test 3 divisions with
cotton & pin
Jaw jerk reflex
CN VII -Facial nerve
Squeeze eyelids
closed (like soap in
eyes)
Raise eyebrows
Smile / pucker
Sneer (platysma)
Taste
Facial Nerve VII relaxed
Facial Nerve VII contraction
Corneal reflex
afferent 5; efferent 7
CN VIII Vestibulo-cochlear
Two divisions:
Vestibular:
head motion sensing
Vertigo / nystagmus / veering gait
Cochlear:
Auditory acuity finger rustle / ticking watch
Rinne test: use tuning fork & compare perception
of sound via bone and air. In a normal ear air
conduction > than bone conduction.
Weber test: tuning fork on the patients forehead.
Normal: patient hears sound equally in both ears. .
CN IX Glossopharyngeal
& X Vagus
Palatal elevation
Gag reflex
(sensory
& motor)
Laryngeal
function
CN XI -- Spinal Accessory
SCM--Right SCM turns head to the left
Trapezius
Raise shoulders
CN XII
Hypoglossal
Inspect bulk of tongue
Protrude tongue
midline
vs deviation to
one side
Ask to press tongue
against inside of cheek
Tongue deviates to
the weak side
Motor Exam
Inspection
atrophy,
Involuntary movements
hypertrophy, fasciculation
tremor, chorea, dystonia, myoclonus, myotonia
Muscle Tone (resistance to passive movement)
Hypotonia
(floppy)
Hypertonia
Spasticity Clasp-knife
Rigidity (Lead pipe)
Strength (grade 0 to 5)
0/5
no contraction, 3/5 overcomes gravity, 5/5 normal
Muscle stretch reflexes (0-4+) r”
Plantar response: flexor or extensor (Babinski)
Upper versus Lower motor neuron
lesions
Sign
Atrophy
Weakness
Fasciculations
Muscle tone
Reflexes
UMN
+/yes
no
inc
inc
LMN
yes
yes
yes
dec
dec
Motor Exam
Atrophy of intrinsic hand muscles
Calf muscle hypertrophy
Check strength proximal to distal
shoulder abduction (deltoid)
elbow flexion/extension
wrist flexion/extension
finger flexion/extension
finger abduction/adduction
hip flexion, abduction/adduction
knee extension/flexion
ankle extension (dorsiflexion) / plantar flexion
toe extensors / flexors/ abductors
Muscle stretch reflexes
Reflex
Biceps
Brachioradialis
Triceps
Knee ( quadriceps)
Ankle ( gastroc/soleus)
Masseter
Nerve root
C5 & 6
C5
C7
L3 & 4
S1
CN V
Muscle stretch reflexes (MSR)
Usually graded 0 to 4 +
0
no response
1+ present but slight in magnitude
2+ present, easily observable
3+ present, “don’t stand in front of pt”
4+ present, recurrent contractions (clonus)
Testing for ankle clonus (4+)
Plantar reflex
Toe flexion is normal. Toe extension is abnormal ( Babinski sign)
Superficial Abdominal Reflex
Stroke anterior
abdominal skin
toward umbilicus
Rectus muscles
Contract in quadrant
stimulated
Other superficial reflexes
Tremor types
Resting tremor : present when limb is relaxed
or not in active use
Parkinson’s
& related disorders
Action / postural tremor :present when body
part is in sustained posture ( holding phone,
newspaper)
Physiological,
familial
Intention tremor: present when limb actively /
quickly being moved (eating, pointing, applying
makeup)
Cerebellar
lesions
Cerebellar Functions
Nystagmus (jerky eye movments)
Dysarthria (scanning / ataxic speech)
Finger-nose-finger
Rapid alternating movements (hands)
Heel -knee -shin
Tandem gait ( heel to toe walking)
Cerebellar testing requires cooperative patient
Cerebellar: finger-nose finger
Patient extends finger
out to your finger
Then moves finger
back to nose
The back to your
finger
Repeat with your
finger in different
position
Cerebellar: finger to nose
Pattern of dysfunction:
Actions break into
jerky steps
Target may be missed
(dysmetria)
Guy in movie Airplane with the “drinking problem”
Cerebellar: heel to shin testing
Patient flexes hip to
place heel to knee
Runs heel smoothly
down the crest of
tibial ( shin) to ankle
Abnormal: heel
oscillates above knee
& slips off shin
Sensory Examination
Sensory Modalities:
Light touch*
Vibration*
(dorsal column)
Pin*
(spinothalamic)
Temperature
(spinothalamic)
Position
(dorsal column)
* = most commonly performed in routine examinations
Sensory Examination
Light touch
Use cotton ball
Patient closes eyes
Present stimulus & ask for response
Move from abnormal area to normal
Sensory Examination
Vibration
Tuning fork ( 128 Hz preferred)
Apply stimulus to toe or finger
Yes / No response or have patient tell when vibration
stops
If abnormal distally move proximally: ankle knee
wrist
elbow
Significance of deficits which split the forehead or chest
Sensory Examination
Pin ( pain) sensation
Use safety pin or broken cotton swap stick
Ask patient to distinguish pin from opposite end
of safety pin ( or your finger tip)
Identify abnormal areas and then find normal
ones: distal / proximal vs dermatomal
Sensory Examination
Position Sense
Use toes & fingers
Patient closes eyes
Move part from straight (neutral) position
into either flexion (down) or extension ( up)
Patient reports direction of movement
Sensory Examination
Temperature Sensation
Hot vs Cold Cold used more often
Tuning fork often used for this vs tube of cool
water
Limb must be warm to properly test
Start distally & move proximally
Good for finding “spinal level” in cord lesions
Gait & Station Testing
Causal walking & then heel to toe ( tandem)
Observe:
Stride length
Smoothness of movement
Symmetry
Steadiness during turning
Gait & Station
Standing (station)
Normal foot spread vs wide vs narrow
normal width is feet directly under hips
Steady vs unsteady
Have patient move feet close together
Have patient close eyes
Worsening
with eye closure is Rhomberg’s sign
(sensory deficit)
Common Patterns of Abnormality
Foot slap: peroneal palsy / L5 radiculopathy
Spastic/scissoring: corticospinal tract lesion
Waddling: hip girdle weakness muscle diseases /
dystrophy
Broad based: sensory or cerebellar
Short stepped with reduced arm swing: basal ganglia
(parkinsons)
Non-organic patterns