Brain Cancer Glossary of Terms

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Adenoma: A benign tumor that arises in or resembles glandular tissue. If an adenoma become...

Advance directives: These directives pertain to treatment preferences and the designation ...

Airway: The path that air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are...

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Anticonvulsant: A medication used to control (prevent) seizures (convulsions) or stop an o...

Astrocytoma: A tumor that begins in the brain or spinal cord in small, star-shaped cells c...

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-...

Benign: Not malignant. A benign tumor is one that does not invade surrounding tissue or sp...

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Brain cancer: Cancer of the central information processing center of the body. Tumors in t...

Brain lesions: an anatomical abnormality of any part of the brain. A brain lesion may be d...

Brain stem: The stem-like part of the base of the brain that is connected to the spinal co...

Brain swelling: See: Cerebral edema.

Brain tumor: A benign or malignant growth in the brain. Primary brain tumors initially for...

Brainstem: The lowest part of the brain which merges with the spinal cord and provides the...

Breast cancer: Breast cancer is diagnosed with self- and physician-examination of the brea...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Cancer causes: In most individual cases of cancer, the exact cause of cancer is unknown. T...

Cancer symptoms: Abnormal sensations or conditions that persons can notice that are a resu...

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Cerebrospinal fluid: A watery fluid that is continuously produced and absorbed and that fl...

Cerebrum: The largest part of the brain. It is divided into two hemispheres, or halves.

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically k...

Choroid: In the eye, a thin vascular layer between the sclera and the retina. The choroid ...

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical...

Coagulation: In medicine, the clotting of blood. The process by which the blood clots to f...

Congenital: A condition that is present at birth, whether or not it is inherited.

Craniotomy: A surgical operation in which an opening is made in the skull.

Cross-section: In anatomy, a transverse cut through a structure or tissue. The opposite is...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Drain: A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or ...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Endotracheal tube: A flexible plastic tube that is put in the mouth and then down into the...

Ependymoma: A type of brain tumor that derives from the glial cells that line the cavities...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degr...

Gait: A manner of walking. Observation of gait can provide early diagnostic clues for a nu...

Gamma knife: A type of radiosurgery (radiation therapy) machine that acts by focusing low-...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Germ: 1. A cell or group of cells (called a primordium) capable of developing into ...

Germ cell: Either the egg or the sperm cell; a reproductive cell. Each mature germ cell is...

Germ cell tumor: A tumor that arises from a germ cell. A germ cell tumor may arise within ...

Gland: A group of cells that secrete a substance for use in the body. For example, the thy...

Glioma: A brain tumor that begin in a glial, or supportive, cell, in the brain or spinal c...

Hair loss: Hair loss is the thinning of hair on the scalp. The medical term for hair loss ...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodefi...

Hospice: A program or facility that provides special care for people who are near the end ...

Hospice care: Care designed to give supportive care to people in the final phase of a term...

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

Implant: 1. To embed; to set in firmly. In embryology, the fertilized egg implants ...

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease or trait, appears in a pa...

Incision: A cut through skin or other tissue performed by a health care professional.

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Intracranial: Within the cranium, the bony dome that houses and protects the brain.

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Laryngeal: Having to do with the larynx (voice box).

Lesion: An area of abnormal tissue change. Lesions vary in severity from harmless to serio...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Living will: An advance medical directive that specifies what types of medical treatment a...

Lobe: Part of an organ that appears to be separate in some way from the rest. A lobe may b...

Local therapy: In the context of cancer, treatment that affects cells in the tumor and the...

Lymphatic: Pertaining to a small, thin channel that is similar to a blood vessel and that ...

Lymphatic system: The tissues and organs, including the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and l...

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Macrobiotic: Referring to the macrobiota, a region's living organisms that are large enoug...

Macrobiotic diet: A diet that incorporates Ayurvedic principles of food combining, is base...

Malignant: 1. Tending to be severe and become progressively worse, as in malignant ...

Mapping: Charting the location of genes on chromosomes.

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of eve...

Medulloblastoma: A type of brain tumor that tends to occur in children, arise in the cereb...

Melanoma: The most dangerous form of skin cancer, a malignancy of the melanocyte, the cell...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Meningioma: A common type of slow-growing, usually benign brain tumor that arises from the...

Metastasis: 1. The process by which cancer spreads from the place at which it firs...

Metastasize: The spread from one part of the body to another. When cancer cells metastasiz...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neurosurgeon: A physician who specializes in surgery on the brain and other parts of the n...

Oncologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. After a ...

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Papilloma: A small solid benign tumor with a clear-cut border that projects above the surr...

Parietal: Adjective from the Latin "parietalis" meaning "belonging to the wall" that the a...

Parietal lobe: Part of the brain, specifically the section of the cerebral hemisphere that...

Pathologist: A physician who identifies diseases and conditions by studying abnormal cells...

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.

Peripheral vision: Side vision. The ability to see objects and movement outside of the di...

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Physical therapist: A person who is trained and certified by a state or accrediting body t...

Pituitary: 1. As an adjective, pertaining to the pituitary gland or its hormonal se...

Pituitary adenoma: A benign tumor of the pituitary, the master gland that controls other g...

Pituitary gland: The main endocrine gland. It is a small structure in the head. It is ca...

Plexus: 1. In medicine, a network or tangle of lymphatic vessels, nerves, or veins....

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping them from ...

Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances a...

Radiologic: Having to do with radiology.

Radiotherapy: The treatment of disease with ionizing radiation. Also called radiation ther...

Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom, or disease after a remission. The reappearance ...

Resection: Surgical removal of part of an organ.

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Sagittal: A vertical plane passing through the standing body from front to back. The mid-s...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

Sensory: Relating to sensation, to the perception of a stimulus, to the voyage made by inc...

Shunt: 1) To move a body fluid, such as cerebrospinal fluid, from one place to another. 2...

Skull: The skull is a collection of bones which encase the brain and give form to the hea...

Stereotactic: Referring to precise positioning in three-dimensional space. For example, bi...

Stereotactic surgery: Surgery in which a system of three-dimensional coordinates is used t...

Stereotaxis: Use of a computer and scanning devices to create three-dimensional pictures. ...

Steroid: One of a large group of chemical substances classified by a specific carbon struc...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vascular: Relating to blood vessels. For example, the vascular system in the body includes...

Ventilator: A machine that mechanically assists a patient in the exchange of oxygen and ca...

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids. Examples of vessels are blood vessels and ...

Vestibular: 1) Having to do with a structure that is a vestibule (entrance), such as the...

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...