Part one of term paper
(ALS), sometimes referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive fatal neuromuscular disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons, among the largest of all nerve cells, reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body with connections to the b ...

Part two of term paper
... to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment--"No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "Atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that nourish the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("Sclerosis") in the region. Over 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS each year. There is great variation in the course of the disease. Symptoms usually appear in individua ...