Medical/Neurosurgical Glossary
- V -
Vascular –
Pertaining to blood vessels.
Vax-D (Vertebral Axial
Decompression)
– A high-priced, automatic traction device that stretches and releases the spine
while the patient lies face-down.
Ventral –
Refers to the front of the body. This is the opposite of dorsal.
Vertebra –
One of the 33 bones of the spinal column. A cervical, thoracic, or
lumbar
vertebra has a cylindrically–shaped body anteriorly and a neural arch
posteriorly (composed primarily of the laminae and pedicles as well as the other
structures in the posterior aspect of the vertebra) that protects the spinal
cord. The plural of vertebra is vertebrae.
Vertebral Artery
– There are two large blood vessels that travel up the cervical spine to the
brain. These provide blood to the top of the spinal cord and the back part of
the brain..
Vertebral End–Plates
– The superior and inferior ends of each vertebral bone (adjacent to the
intervertebral disc) are called end-plates.
Vertebrectomy
– This is a surgical procedure where a vertebral bone is removed completely or
in large part.
Vertebral Subluxation Complex
– This is a "modern" chiropractic term for chiropractic subluxations.
Vitalism – The
concept that the functions of an organism are due to a "vital principle" or
"life force" distinct from the physical forces explainable by the laws of
physics and chemistry. Chiropractors refer to that force as "Innate
Intelligence."
Vocational
Counselor - an expert
in retraining who helps an injured worker retrain and find a new job.
Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) -
the process of retraining an injured worker retrain and helping them find a new
job.
von Hippel Lindau syndrome – Also called Hippel Syndrome,
Hippel-Lindau Syndrome, and Hippel-Czermak Syndrome, this is one of the
phakomatoses, also, skin markings associated with vascular malformations.
If you are aware of any useful spine and neuromusculoskeletal terms which are
not included in this list, or if you have suggestions for better definitions, your help would be
greatly appreciated. Please send me any upgrades and
I will update the web site appropriately. Click
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