Encephalitis Glossary of Terms

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Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Acyclovir: (Brand name: Zovirax) One of a group of antiviral drugs that acts against the...

Allergic reaction: The hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic indiv...

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

Antiviral: An agent that kills a virus or that suppresses its ability to replicate and, he...

Arbovirus: A class of viruses transmitted to humans by arthropods such as mosquitoes and ...

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Autoimmune disease: An illness that occurs when the body tissues are attacked by its own i...

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

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

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

Brain biopsy: Biopsy of the brain. Removal of a small piece of tissue from the brain for d...

Brain swelling: See: Cerebral edema.

C-section: Short for Cesarean section.

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

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US agency charged with tracking a...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and invest...

Chickenpox: A highly infectious viral disease also known medically as varicella -- in many...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

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

Developmental delay: A condition in which a child is behind schedule in reaching milestone...

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...

Eastern equine encephalitis: Abbreviated EEE. A mosquito-born viral disease. The EEE virus...

EEG: Electroencephalogram.

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

Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain, which may be caused by a bacterium, a virus, or a...

Epidemic: The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community...

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

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

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

Flu: Short for influenza. The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract w...

Fungi: Plural of fungus.

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

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

Herpes: A family of viruses. Herpes also refers to infection with one of the human herpesv...

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

Hives: A raised, itchy area of skin that may be a sign of an allergic reaction. It can be ...

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

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

Immunity: The condition of being immune. Immunity can be innate'for example, humans are in...

Immunology: The study of all aspects of the immune system, including its structure and fun...

Infant: A young baby, from birth to 12 months of age.

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 ...

Isolate: A group in which mating is always between members of the group. For example, the ...

Japanese encephalitis: A mosquito-borne flavivirus infection that is the leading cause of ...

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

Lips: Aside from the lips of the mouth, there are two pairs of lips at the entrance to the...

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

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...

Lyme disease: An inflammatory disease that is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi...

Measles: An acute and highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, runny nose,...

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

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

Mental retardation: The condition of having an IQ measured as below 70 to 75 and significa...

Mortality: A fatal outcome or, in one word, death. The word "mortality" is derived from "m...

Mortality rate: A death rate. There are a number of different types of mortality rates as,...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Mumps: An acute (sudden, shortlived) viral illness that usually presents with inflammation...

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

Natural immunity: Immunity that is naturally existing, Natural immunity does not require p...

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

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

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

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

Parasite: A plant or an animal organism that lives in or on another and takes its nourishm...

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

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

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

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

Relapse: The return of signs and symptoms of a disease after a remission.

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

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

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

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

Sore throat: Pain in the throat. Sore throat may be caused by many different causes, inclu...

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 ...

Strain: 1. An injury to a tendon or muscle resulting from overuse or trauma. 2. A heredita...

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

Subacute: Rather recent onset or somewhat rapid change. In contrast, acute indicates very ...

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

Syphilis: A sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum, a microscopic orga...

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Tick: A small wingless bloodsucking insect that, along with the mite, belongs to the order...

Ticks: Small wingless bloodsucking insects that, along with the mite, belongs to the order...

Tuberculosis: A highly contagious infection caused by the bacterium called Mycobacterium ...

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

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

Viral encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain as a result of virus infection. There are ma...

Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apar...

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

West Nile encephalitis: A febrile disease caused by the West Nile virus that is transmitt...

West Nile virus: The mosquito-borne virus that causes West Nile fever. One of the flavivi...

Zovirax: Brand name of Acyclovir.