Kenyan Paraplegic Organisation

An injury is classified into two basic categories:

1. Complete - no functional motor or sensory preservation in the sacral segments.
2. Incomplete - preserved motor or sensory function at the sacral levels.

Definitions:
Tetraplegia (preferred to "quadriplegia")
Impairment or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical segments of the spinal cord due to damage of neural elements within the spinal canal. Tetraplegia results in impairment of function in the arms as well as in the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs. It does not include brachial plexus lesions or injury to peripheral nerves outside the neural canal.

Paraplegia
Refers to impairment of loss of motor and/or sensory function in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral (but not cervical) segments of the spinal cord, secondary to damage of neural elements within the spinal canal. With paraplegia, arm functioning is spared but depending on the level of injury, the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs may be involved.