RESOURCES: Glossary
Definitions: O
Obtunded: Mental blunting; mild to moderate reduction in alertness.
Orientation to Environment: Knowledge regarding the present environment including where one is at the time of the evaluation. Accurate awareness of place.
Definitions: P
Paralysis: This is compete loss of voluntary activity within a given muscle or muscle groups.
Paraparesis: Weakness of the lower limbs.
Paraplegia: Paralysis of the lower limbs.
Pattern of Movement: Sequencing of selective movement in an appropriate alignment for the achievement of a goal.
Pelvic Obliquity: This refers to abnormal alignment of the pelvis, one side of the pelvis being either higher or rotated in respect to the other side. It is commonly seen in wheelchair users, or individuals that have an imbalance of muscle tone throughout their trunk and/or pelvis.
Pelvic Tilt: This describes the movement that can occur at the pelvis in an anteroposterior and lateral direction.
Perception: The ability to make sense of what one sees, hears, feels, tastes or smells. Perceptual losses are often very subtle, and the patient and/or family may be unaware of them.
Perceptual-Motor: Interaction of the perceptual abilities with motor abilities.
Perseveration: The inappropriate persistence of a response in a current task which may have been appropriate for a former task. Perseverations may be verbal or motoric.
Persistent Vegetative State (PVS): A long-standing condition in which the patient utters no words and does not follow commands or make any responses that are meaningful.
Phlebitis: Inflammation of a vein.
Plasticity: Is the ability of all cells to alter any aspect of their phenotype at any stage of their development in response to changes in their state of environment. All cells are plastic, it is a process of life and in continual operation throughout life. The potentiality for plasticity is dependent on the environment, it needs to be rich in stimuli.
Position Sense: The sensory awareness of the location and orientation of body parts without moving them.
Postural Alignment: This describes the alignment of body parts in relation to one another in different postures. Normal postural alignment facilitates the normal use of the muscles to maintain that alignment which in turn allows efficient selective movement to occur.
Postural Tone, Excessive: Greater than normal tone of muscles used to hold the body in ordinary positions such as sitting or standing.
Posture: Posture is a temporarily arrested movement. It allows one to resist gravity but still be able to move, gain selective movement, move efficiently in patterns and move on an automatic basis.
Pre-Morbid Condition: Characteristics of an individual present before the disease or injury occurred.
Pressure Area: An area of skin that displays an area of redness due to unrelieved pressure. A pressure area still demonstrates capillary refill (the blood supply to the area is still intact), however the area is susceptible to breakdown if continues to be exposed to pressure.
Prone: Lying on one's stomach.
Proprioception: The sensory awareness of the position of body parts with or without movement.
Proprioceptive Control: Ability to selectively receive, integrate and respond to the environment.
Protective Reactions: Saving responses by an individual when righting responses fail.
Proximal Instability: Weakness of muscles of the trunk, shoulder girdle or pelvis which causes poor posture, abnormal movement of the arms or legs and the inability to hold one's head up. Strength of muscles of the hands or legs may be normal.
Psychomotor Skills: Skills that involve both mental and muscular ability such as playing sports or other activities where practice or concentration is involved.
Ptosis: Drooping of a body part, such as the upper eyelid, from paralysis, or drooping of visceral organs from weakness of the abdominal muscles.