Insult (medical)

In medical terms, an insult is the cause of some kind of physical or mental injury. For example, a burn on the skin (the injury) may be the result of a thermal, chemical, radioactive, or electrical event (the insult).[1] Likewise sepsis and trauma are examples of foreign insults,[2] and encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors are examples of insults to the brain.[3] Clinicians may use the term cerebrovascular insult (CVI) as a synonym for a stroke.[4][5]

Insults may be categorized as either genetic or environmental.[6]

  1. ^ Nath, Judi L. (2006). Using Medical Terminology: A Practical Approach. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 169. ISBN 9780781748681.
  2. ^ Ronco, Claudio; Bellomo, Rinaldo; Kellum, John A. (2008). Critical Care Nephrology: Expert Consult - Online and Print. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 10. ISBN 9781416042525.
  3. ^ Shelton; Hunt (2008). "9. Anxiety disorders". In Fatemi, S. Hossein; Clayton, Paula J. (eds.). The Medical Basis of Psychiatry. Springer. p. 152. ISBN 9781597452526.
  4. ^ Puenta, Antonio N.; Miller, L. Stephen (2013) [2012]. "Secondary Factors in Alzheimer's Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Stroke". In Arnett, Peter (ed.). Secondary Influences on Neuropsychological Test Performance. National Academy of Neuropsychology: Series on Evidence-Based Practices. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 342. ISBN 9780199838615. Retrieved 20 June 2023. Worldwide, cerebrovascular insult (CVI, or stroke) is a frequent cause of death and disability [...].
  5. ^ Muresian, Horia (26 July 2016). "Stroke Subtypes". In Muresian, Horia (ed.). Arterial Revascularization of the Head and Neck: Text Atlas for Prevention and Management of Stroke. Switzerland: Springer. p. 66. ISBN 9783319341934. Retrieved 20 June 2023. Stroke (cerebrovascular accident, cerebrovascular insult, or brain attack) denotes the clinical pathological condition characterized by cell death induced by altered blood supply to the brain.
  6. ^ Sadler, Thomas W.; Langman, Jan (2005). Langman's Essential Medical Embryology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 2. ISBN 9780781755719.