ACCS Respiratory Practice Exam

The key idea is that signs of cervical spine injury come from disruption of the spinal cord itself or the autonomic reflexes controlled below the brainstem. When the cervical cord is injured, you can see respiratory compromise from impaired diaphragmatic and intercostal function, and autonomic dysfunction leading to low blood pressure with bradycardia (neurogenic shock) and problems with temperature regulation due to loss of sympathetic control. Facial weakness, on the other hand, usually points to a cranial nerve or brain involvement rather than the spinal cord. It reflects brain or brainstem pathology rather than injury at or below the cervical level, so it would not specifically raise suspicion for cervical spine injury. Therefore, facial weakness is not a typical sign of cervical spinal injury, while respiratory weakness, hypotension with bradycardia, and difficulty maintaining normothermia align with spinal cord–related autonomic and motor dysfunction.