Brain Lesions (Lesions on the Brain) Glossary of Terms

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

Acquired: Not inherited, or present at birth (congenital), but developing after birth. For...

Alzheimer's disease: A progressive degenerative disease of the brain that leads to dementi...

Amyloid: Any of a number of complex proteins that are deposited in tissues and that share ...

Aneurysm: A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, a vein, or the heart. At the poi...

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Autopsy: A postmortem examination. Also known as necropsy.

Babinski reflex: A reflex used to determine adequacy of the higher (central) nervous syste...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria, as in a bacterial lung infection.

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...

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

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

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

Cerebral: Of or pertaining to the cerebrum or the brain.

Cerebral vascular: See: Cerebrovascular.

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

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Colon: The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food. The remaini...

Colonoscopy: A procedure whereby a physician inserts a viewing tube (colonoscope) into the...

Coma: A state of deep, unarousable unconsciousness. A coma may occur as a result of head t...

Compress: Cloth or another material applied under pressure to an area of the skin and held...

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

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Cysticercosis: An infection caused by the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. Infection occurs w...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, that is sev...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

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

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. One of two types of molecules that encode genetic information...

Dopamine: An important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain.

Extremity: An uttermost part of the body, such as a hand or a foot.

Familial: A condition that tends to occur more often in family members than is expected by...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

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

Fracture: A break in bone or cartilage. Although usually a result of trauma, a fracture ca...

Fungi: Plural of fungus.

Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity. A segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) need...

Gene pool: The sum total of genes, with all their variations, possessed by a particular sp...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Genetics: The scientific study of heredity. Genetics pertains to humans and all other orga...

Genomic: Pertaining to the genome, all of the genetic information possessed by any organis...

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

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

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

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

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

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...

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emot...

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

Limb: An arm or a leg.

Lumbar: Referring to the five lumbar vertebrae, the disks below them, and the correspondin...

Lumbar puncture: A procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is removed from the spinal canal...

Lung cancer: Cancer of the major organ of respiration - the lung. Lung cancer kills more m...

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

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Membrane: A very thin layer of tissue that covers a 'surface.

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...

Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges, the three membranes that envelop the brain and t...

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

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

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Multiple sclerosis: A disease that is characterized by loss of myelin (demyelinization). A...

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

Myelin: The fatty substance that covers and protects nerves. Myelin is a layered tissue th...

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

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Neisseria: A group of bacteria that includes the bacterium that causes gonorrhea.

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Neurofibromatosis: A genetic disorder of the nervous system that primarily affects the dev...

Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurol...

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

Pap Smear: A screening test for cervical cancer based on the examination of cells under th...

Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one mu...

Parasitic: Having to do with a parasite, as in a parasitic infection; or acting like a par...

Parkinson's disease: A slowly progressive neurologic disease that is characterized by a fi...

Pathogenic: Capable of causing disease. For example, pathogenic E. coli are Eschericia col...

Plaque: 1. An semi-hardened accumulation of substances from fluids that bathe an a...

Pork tapeworm: Taenia solium.

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

Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity, advancing, or going forward. For example, a ...

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the blad...

Rabies: A potentially fatal viral infection that attacks the central nervous system. Rabie...

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 ...

Recur: To occur again; to return. For example, a symptom, sign, or disease can recur.

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

Reflex: An involuntary reaction. For example, the corneal reflex is the blink that occurs ...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

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

Sclerosis: Localized hardening of skin. Sclerosis is generally caused by underlying diseas...

Seizure: Uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain, which may produce a physical conv...

Sense of smell: See Olfaction.

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

Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies with...

Spinal tap: Also known as a lumbar puncture or "LP", a spinal tap is a procedure whereby ...

Streptococcus: A group of bacteria that causes a multitude of diseases. Under a microscope...

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...

Tapeworm: A worm that is flat like a tape measure and functions as an intestinal parasite,...

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

Tissue plasminogen activator: (tPA) An enzyme that helps dissolve clots. tPA is made by th...

Tobacco: A South American herb (Nicotiana tabacum) whose leaves contain 2 to 8 percent nic...

Tobacco smoking: The direct inhalation of tobacco smoke, the basis of major health hazards...

tPA: See: Tissue plasminogen activator.

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predispose...

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

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

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, if a person has a viral rash, the rash wa...

Viruses: Small living particles that can infect cells and change how the cells function. I...

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