Swelling of the meninges, that’s the basic meaning of meningitis; there is the presence of inflammation due to several external and internal factors. The types of meningitis entirely depend on what caused the condition in the first place.
To start this lecture, let’s talk about how the meninges have gotten infected and became impaired. Let’s focus on the pathophysiology.
Meninges serve as the protective coating that aids in the reduction of friction for the entire central nervous system, consisting mainly of the brain and spinal cord. In the event of an infection, meningitis occurs.
To help you further figure out the entire structure of the brain and how the meninges fit in, we’ll consider the brain as a whole pizza.
First, we have the crust of the pizza which is the cranium. The cranium covers the meninges. Underneath this crust, is the dura, arachnoid, and pia mater – they make up the meninges.
When considering the meninges, you have to think of it as the pizza toppings. The dura is the pizza sauce or the tomato sauce. The arachnoid is the cheese because the arachnoid looks like small cheese sprinkled around, that helps in cushioning the brain. Lastly, the pia mater is the pepperoni.
We compared the brain to a pizza to help you imagine how all these components come to place and how they are affected when there is the presence of a virus, bacteria, or fungus.
The meninges can get infected either by a virus or bacteria. What’s the difference between the two?
With viral meningitis, there is the presence of infection inside the brain caused by pre-existing conditions like mumps, measles, or herpes. Viral meningitis is not contagious and is a more preferred diagnosis than bacterial meningitis.
Bacterial meningitis is the more lethal version of meningitis due to its effects on the brain and because it can spread very quickly. Bacterial meningitis occurs due to the following reasons:
Bacterial meningitis starts when bacteria from the throat, ears, or sinuses invade the bloodstream. Once the bacteria have infiltrated the bloodstream, it can easily travel to different parts of the body, especially the brain. Bacterial meningitis can be passed on to other people with a mere cough or sneeze.
Unlike viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis is life-threatening, and if not treated right away, the client might have brain damage.
So, how can you identify that your client is experiencing meningitis? In our next lecture, we’ll go into the different signs and symptoms of viral and bacterial meningitis, the nursing interventions, diagnostic studies, and client teaching.
For other nursing-related discussions, drop by Simple Nursing’s website and YouTube channel and check out tons of comprehensive topics that will help you in major nursing exams and the NCLEX ® .
Passing the NCLEX is the final obstacle standing between you and your dream of becoming…
Looking for nursing notes examples to model your own charting on? You're in the right…
Let's make this simple. A nursing diagnosis is one of the most-assigned (and most-confusing) parts…
A nursing student can spend hours reading a chapter and still struggle to remember the…
Education: SimpleNursing Editorial Team Education