Glossary of Chiropractic & Medical Terms

UNCOMPLICATED CASE: A case where the patient exhibits progressive recovery from an illness or injury at a rate greater than, or equal to, the expectation from the natural history.

VAGUS NERVE - The tenth cranial nerve, which is a mixed nerve that has both motor and sensory functions.

VALIDITY: The property of information derived from a test or a measurement that assures that it represents the intended function or structure. The extent to which a measurement method measures what it is intended to do.

VASOCONSTRICTION - A decrease in the diameter of blood vessels.

VASODILATION - An increase in the diameter of blood vessels.

VASOPRESSIN - A hormone secreted by the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior pituitary which raises blood pressure and increases reabsorption of water by the kidneys.

VASOPRESSOR - An agent which constricts the arteries and raises blood pressure.

VASOSPASM - Spasm of blood vessels, decreasing their diameter.

VENTRICLE - The cavities or chambers within the brain which contain the cerebrospinal fluid.
There are two lateral ventricles and midline third and fourth ventricles. The two inferior chambers of the human heart that push blood into the arteries.

VERTEBRA - One of the 33 bones of the spinal column. A cervical, thoracic, or lumbar vertebra has a cylindrically-shaped bony anterior and a neural arch posterior (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.

VERTIGO - An abnormal sensation of rotation or movement of one's self, or the environment.

BPPV: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

WHIPLASH – A hyperextension and hyperflexion injury to the neck, often the result of being struck from behind, as by a fast-moving vehicle in a car accident.