Dementia in Head Injury Glossary of Terms

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Alcoholism: Physical dependence on alcohol to the extent that stopping alcohol use would b...

Alzheimer disease: See: Alzheimer's disease.

Amitriptyline: An antidepressant medication. In some patients with depression, abnormal l...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antipsychotic: A medication (or another measure) that is believed to be effective in the t...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Benzodiazepines: A class of drugs that act as tranquilizers and are commonly used in the t...

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

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 swelling: See: Cerebral edema.

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

Child abuse: A complex set of behaviors that include child neglect and the physical, emoti...

Clinical psychology: A professional specialty concerned with diagnosing and treating disea...

Cognition: The process of knowing. Cognition includes both awareness and judgment.

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

Complication: In medicine, an unanticipated problem that arises following, and is a result...

Computed tomography: An x-ray procedure that uses the help of a computer to produce a deta...

Concussion: A traumatic injury to soft tissue, usually the brain, as a result of a violent...

Contusion: Another name for a bruise. What is a bruise ? A bruise, or contusion, is caused...

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

Deafness: Partial or complete hearing loss. Levels of hearing impairment vary from a mild ...

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...

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

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

EEG: Electroencephalogram.

Elavil: See: Amitriptyline.

Electroencephalogram: A technique for studying the electrical currents within the brain. E...

Epilepsy (seizure disorder): When nerve cells in the brain fire electrical impulses...

Eskalith: See: Lithium.

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Head injury: Damage to any of the structures of the head as a result of trauma. While the ...

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

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

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

Hydrocephalus: Hydrocephalus is an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the v...

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. Also commonly ...

Hyperactivity: A higher than normal level of activity. An organ can be described as hyper...

Incontinence: The inability to control excretions, to hold urine in the bladder, or to kee...

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

Injure: To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emotional sense. Fr...

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

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Lithium: A naturally occurring salt that, in purified form, is used to treat certain psych...

Lithobid: See: Lithium.

Mania: An abnormally elevated mood state characterized by such symptoms as inappropriate...

Medic Alert: Originally,a bracelet that a person could wear to warn medical professionals ...

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

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

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Multi-infarct dementia: Dementia that is brought on by a series of strokes.

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

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

Neurologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of th...

Neurology: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders o...

Neuropsychologist: A psychologist who has completed special training in the neurobiologica...

Neurotransmitter: A chemical that is released from a nerve cell which thereby transmits an...

NINDS: Stands for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one of the ...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

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

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

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Psychiatry: The medical specialty that is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, and tr...

Psychology: The study of the mind and mental processes, especially in relation to behavior...

Psychosis: In the general sense, a mental illness that markedly interferes with a person'...

Psychotropic drug: Any drug capable of affecting the mind, emotions, and behavior. Some le...

Public health: The approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community...

Regimen: A plan or a regulated course, such as a diet, exercise, or treatment, that is des...

Rehabilitation: The process of helping a person who has suffered an illness or injury rest...

Reuptake: The reabsorption of a secreted substance by the cell that originally produced an...

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

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Shaken baby syndrome: Characteristic injuries caused by violently shaking an infant. Shake...

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

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

SPECT: An acronym that stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, a nuclear me...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

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

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Substance abuse: The excessive use of a substance, especially alcohol or a drug. (There is...

Suicidal: Pertaining to suicide. the taking of ones own life. As in a suicidal gesture, su...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Tension: 1) The pressure within a vessel, such as blood pressure: the pressure within t...

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

Tired: A feeling of a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment,...

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Traumatic brain injury: Brain damage from trauma. The three leading causes of death from t...

Tricyclic antidepressants: One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tri...

Uncertainty: "Medicine's ground state is uncertainty. And wisdom -- for both patients and ...

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