Resource Guide Glossary

Glossary of Terms

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Halo	A metal ring used for patients with spinal cord injuries which encircles the patient's head to allow proper alignment of the neck and spinal column. It is important that the patient with a broken spine remain still in order to prevent further injury to the spinal cord.
Handicapped Person	Any individual who 1) has a physical or mental disability which for that individual constitutes or results in a substantial handicap to employment; and 2) can reasonably be expected to benefit in terms of employability from the provision of vocational rehabilitation services.
Head-Injured	A person who has a definite history of a blow to the head, a laceration of the scalp or forehead, and/or altered consciousness, no matter how brief. This excludes facial lacerations, fractures of the lower jaw, and foreign bodies in the eye, nose, or ear, unless they were associated with one of the "head injury" features.
Head Injury, Traumatic	Damage to living brain tissue caused by an external, mechanical force. It is usually characterized by a period of altered consciousness (amnesia or coma) that can be very brief (minutes) or exceedingly long (months/indefinitely). The resulting tissue damage impairs an individual's physical, mental, and/or psychosocial abilities. Also called traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Head Injury, Closed	Occurs when the head collides with another object (for example the windshield of a car) and brain tissue is damaged, not by the presence of a foreign object within the brain, but by violent smashing, stretching, and twisting, of brain tissue. Closed head injuries cause diffuse tissue damage that results in disabilities which are generalized and highly variable.
Head Injury, Mild	Patients who have been unconscious for less than 20 minutes, have a Glasgow Coma Score of 13 to 15 at time of admission, are neurologically normal within 48 hours, are hospitalized for 48 hours or less and have no significant complicating multiple injury, and have normal CT scans. Also called "mild" head injury.
Head Injury, Moderate	A Glasgow Coma Score of 9 to 12 at the time of admission. Two-thirds of moderately injured persons remain moderately or severely disabled three months post injury.
Head Injury, Penetrating	Occurs when an object (for example a bullet) fractures the skull, enters the brain and rips the soft brain tissue in its path. Penetrating injuries tend to damage relatively localized areas of the brain, which result in fairly discrete and predictable disabilities.
Head Injury, Severe	Severe injury is one that produces at least 6 hours of coma; Glasgow Coma Score of 8 or less within first 24 hours.
H.F.A.C.	Human Factors Association of Canada.
HI	Head Injury.
H.I.A.	Head Injury Association.
Hematoma	The collection of blood in tissues or a space following rupture of a blood vessel. Epidural - Outside The Brain And Its Fibrous Covering, But Under The Skull. Subdural - Between The Brain And Its Fibrous Covering. Intracerebral - In The Brain Tissue.
Hemianopsia	Visual field cut. Blindness for one half of the field of vision. This is not the right or left eye, but the right or left half of vision in each eye.
Hemiplegia	Paralysis of one side of the body as a result of injury to neurons carrying signals to muscles from the motor areas of the brain.
Hemiparesis	Weakness of one side of the body.
Hemorrhage	(See Hematoma) Bleeding that occurs following damage to blood vessels. Bleeding may occur within the brain when blood vessels in the brain are damaged.
High Level Thought Processes	Includes conversion thinking, deductive and inductive reasoning, divergent thinking, and high-level problem solving, including comprehension of a problem, formulation of several alternative solutions based on past experiences or long-term memory, generation of a solution and evaluation of a solution. This differs from organization in that high level thought processes involve the use of multiple strategies.
Homecare Program	Primary emphasis is on a team-integrated home program. A comprehensive program which is designed with training and case management services in place before an individual returns home.
H.R.P.A.O.	Human Resource Professionals Association of Ontario.
Hydrocephalus	Enlargement of fluid-filled cavities in the brain, not due to brain atrophy.

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Material for the glossary was provided by the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA).