Worst Headache of Your Life Glossary of Terms

1. A Visual Guide to Migraine Headaches Slideshow Pictures
2. Headache and Migraine Triggers Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Migraines Quiz

Acetaminophen: A nonaspirin pain reliever or analgesic. Acetaminophen may be given alone t...

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

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

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

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...

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

Cluster: In epidemiology, an aggregation of cases of a disease or another health-related c...

Cluster headache: A distinctive episodic syndrome of headaches. The most common cluster he...

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 ...

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

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...

Giant cell arteritis: A serious disease characterized by inflammation of the walls of the ...

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...

Hemorrhage: Bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

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...

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...

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

Migraine: Usually, periodic attacks of headaches on one or both sides of the head. These ...

Migraine headache: The most common type of vascular headache involving abnormal sensitivit...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

Referral: The recommendation of a medical or paramedical professional. If you get a refer...

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

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 ...

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

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

Subarachnoid: Literally, beneath the arachnoid, the middle of three membranes that cover t...

Subarachnoid hemorrhage: A bleeding into the subarachnoid, the space between the arachnoid...

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

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

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

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

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