Encephalopathy Glossary of Terms

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

Abstinence: The voluntary self-denial of food, drink, or sex. Today, abstinence most commo...

Acetylcholine: A neurotransmitter released by nerves that is essential for communication b...

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

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

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

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

Ammonia: A colorless gas with a very sharp odor. Made both by humans and by nature, ammoni...

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

Anoxia: The absence, or near absence, of oxygen. Anoxia can injure tissues of the body.

Anoxic: Pertaining to anoxia, an absence or near absence of oxygen.

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell and narro...

Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection wit...

Ataxia: Poor coordination and unsteadiness due to the brain's failure to regulate the body...

Autopsy: A postmortem examination. Also known as necropsy.

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

Birth defect: Any defect present in a baby at birth, irrespective of whether the defect is...

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

Blood glucose: The main sugar that the body makes from the food in the diet. Glucose is ca...

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

Blood sugar: Blood glucose. See also: High blood sugar; Low blood sugar.

Bovine: Having to do with cows and cattle, as in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow...

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

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

Broca's area: An area of the cerebral motor cortex in the frontal lobe of the brain that ...

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

Carbon monoxide poisoning: A potentially deadly condition caused by breathing carbon monox...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cardiopulmonary: Having to do with both the heart and lungs.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A life-saving emergency procedure that involves breathing f...

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

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...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

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

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

Chronic kidney failure: See: Chronic renal failure.

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

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

Complete blood count: A set values of the cellular (formed elements) of blood. These meas...

Computerized tomography: Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that...

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

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

COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

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

Cyanide: Poisoning with cyanide, a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can ex...

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

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 ...

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Dissection: The process of cutting apart or separating tissue as, for example, in the stud...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

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

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

Encephalopathy: Disease, damage, or malfunction of the brain. In general, encephalopathy i...

Fetal distress: Compromise of a fetus during the antepartum period (before labor) or intra...

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

Fiber: The parts of fruits and vegetables that cannot be digested. Fiber is of vital impor...

Frontal: In anatomy, pertaining to the forehead. As, for example, the frontal bone, fronta...

Frontal lobe: The part of each hemisphere of the brain located behind the forehead that se...

Fungi: Plural of fungus.

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

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Glucose: The simple sugar that is the chief source of energy. Glucose is found in the bloo...

Glutamine: An amino acid, one of the 20 building blocks of protein. Glutamine is present i...

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. ...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. He...

Hemorrhagic: Pertaining to bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.

Hepatic: Having to do with the liver.

Hepatic encephalopathy: Brain dysfunction directly due to liver dysfunction, most often re...

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

Hyperglycemia: A high blood sugar. An elevated level specifically of the sugar glucose in...

Hypertensive: Having abnormally high blood pressure (hypertension). See also: Hypotensive;...

Hypertensive crisis: A severe and potentially life-threatening increase in blood pressure ...

Hypoglycemia: Low blood sugar (glucose). Hypoglycemia may be associated with symptoms such...

Hyponatremia: Low sodium in the blood. Hyponatremia can be caused by many conditions and w...

Hypotension: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individual in a ...

Hypotonia: Decreased muscle tone and strength that results in floppiness. Hypotonia is a c...

Hypoxia: A lower-than-normal concentration of oxygen in arterial blood, as opposed to anox...

Hypoxic: Pertaining to hypoxia, a subnormal concentration of oxygen.

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 ...

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

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

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

Intubation: The process of putting a tube into a hollow organ or passageway, often into th...

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

Kidney transplant: Replacement of a diseased, damaged, or missing kidney with a donor ki...

Kuru: A slowly progressive fatal disease of the brain that is due to an infectious agent t...

Labile: Unstable. For example, labile blood pressure is blood pressure that abnormally inc...

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

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

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large org...

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

Low blood pressure: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individua...

Low blood sugar: A low blood level of the sugar glucose. Also called hypoglycemia.

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...

Magnetic resonance imaging: A procedure that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer t...

Malabsorption: Poor intestinal absorption of nutrients. Malabsorption can occur from disea...

Malnutrition: A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive eno...

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

Meninges: The three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (singular: meninx).

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

Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur wit...

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

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

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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

Naloxone: A drug that antagonizes morphine and other opiates. Naloxone is a pure opiate an...

Narcan: Brand name for naloxone.

Narcotic: 1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosi...

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...

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

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

Obtunded: Mentally dulled. Head trauma may obtund a person.

Occipital: 1. Pertaining to the occiput, the back of head.
2. Located...

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

Organ failure: The failure of an essential system in the body. Multiple organ failure is t...

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

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

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

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

Peripheral vascular disease: A disease of blood vessels outside the heart. Peripheral vasc...

Placenta: A temporary organ that joins the mother and fetus, transferring oxygen and nutri...

Placenta previa: A condition in which the placenta is implanted near the outlet of the ute...

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

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

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

Prion: A small proteinaceous infectious disease-causing agent that is believed to be the s...

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 ...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

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...

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

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Resuscitation: The procedure of restoring to life, as in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CP...

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...

Seizure disorders: One of a great many medical conditions that are characterized by epis...

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming...

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

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

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

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

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

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 ...

Spongiform: Resembling a sponge in being soft and full of cavities, as in as in transmissi...

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

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

Temporal: 1. Pertaining to time, limited in time, temporary, or transient.
...

Temporal lobe: The lobe of the cerebral hemisphere located down on the side just forward o...

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

Thiamine: Vitamin B1. Thiamine (vitamin B1) acts as a coenzyme in the metabolism of the bo...

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

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

Trachea: A tube-like portion of the respiratory tract that connects the larynx with the br...

Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bu...

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Trimester: In obstetrics, one of the three divisions of three months each during pregnancy...

Umbilical cord: The cord that connects the developing fetus with the placenta while the fe...

Unconscious: 1. Interruption of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings, lack ...

Uterus: A hollow, pear-shaped organ that is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between th...

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...

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

Vitamin B1: Thiamine. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) acts as a coenzyme in the metabolism of the bo...

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...