Allergic reaction: The hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic individual to a substance.
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Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness. A general anesthetic puts the person to sleep. A local anesthetic causes loss of feeling in a part of the body such as a tooth or an area of skin without affecting consciousness. Regional anesthesia numbs a larger part of the body such as a leg or arm, also without affecting consciousness. The term "conduction anesthesia" encompasses both local and regional anesthetic techniques. Many surgical procedures can be done with conduction anesthesia without significant pain. In many situations, such as a C-section, conduction anesthesia is safer and therefore preferable to general anesthesia. However, there are also many types of surgery in which general anesthesia is clearly appropriate.
Anterior: The front, as opposed to the posterior. The anterior surface of the heart is toward the breast bone (the sternum).
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Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.
Brain: That part of the central nervous system that is located within the cranium ( skull ). The brain functions as the primary receiver, organizer and distributor of information for the body. It has two (right and left) halves called "hemispheres."
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Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
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Cerebrum: The largest part of the brain. It is divided into two hemispheres, or halves.
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Corpus: The body of the uterus (womb).
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Corpus callosotomy: The corpus callosum is a band of nerve fibers connecting the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain . A corpus callosotomy is an operation in which all or part of this structure is cut, disabling communication between the hemispheres and preventing the spread of seizures from one side of the brain to the other. This procedure, sometimes called split-brain surgery, is for patients with extreme forms of uncontrollable epilepsy who have intense seizures that can lead to violent falls and potentially serious injury.
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Cut: An area of severed skin. Wash a cut or scrape it with soap and water, and keep it clean and dry. Putting alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine into a wound can delay healing, and should be avoided. Seek medical care if you think you might need stitches, as delay can increase the rate of wound infection. If the cut results from a puncture wound through the shoe, there is a high risk of infection, and you should see your healthcare professional. Redness, swelling, increased pain, and pus draining from the wound also indicate an infection that requires professional care.
Cuts: Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and dry is all that is required to care for most wounds. Putting alcohol hydrogen peroxide, and iodine into a wound can delay healing and should be avoided. Seek medical care early if you think that you might need stitches. Any delay can increase the rate of wound infection. Any puncture wound through tennis shoes has a high risk of infection and should be seen by your healthcare professional. Any redness, swelling, increased pain, or pus draining from the wound may indicate an infection that requires professional care.
Disease: Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.
Epilepsy (seizure disorder): When nerve cells in the brain fire electrical impulses at a rate of up to four times higher than normal, this causes a sort of electrical storm in the brain, known as a seizure. A pattern of repeated seizures is referred to as epilepsy. Known causes include head injuries, brain tumors, lead poisoning, maldevelopment of the brain, genetic and infectious illnesses. But in fully half of cases, no cause can be found. Medication controls seizures for the majority of patients.
Frontal: In anatomy, pertaining to the forehead. As, for example, the frontal bone, frontal sinus, and frontal nerve. From the Latin "frons" meaning the forehead or brow.
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Functional hemispherectomy: A functional hemispherectomy is a variation of a hemispherectomy, a radical procedure in which one entire hemisphere, or one half of the brain , is removed. With a functional hemispherectomy, one hemisphere is disconnected from the rest of the brain, but only a limited area of brain tissue is removed. This surgery generally is limited to children younger than 13 years old who have one hemisphere that is not functioning normally.
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Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest.
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Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is used narrowly and incorrectly as a synonym for coronary artery disease. Heart disease is synonymous with cardiac disease but not with cardiovascular disease which is any disease of the heart or blood vessels. Among the many types of heart disease, see, for example: Angina; Arrhythmia; Congenital heart disease; Coronary artery disease (CAD); Dilated cardiomyopathy; Heart attack (myocardial infarction); Heart failure; Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Mitral regurgitation; Mitral valve prolapse; and Pulmonary stenosis.
Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.
Lesion: Pronounced "lee-sion" with the emphasis on the "lee," a lesion can be almost any abnormality involving any tissue or organ due to any disease or any injury.
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Lobe: Part of an organ that appears to be separate in some way from the rest. A lobe may be demarcated from the rest of the organ by a fissure (crack), sulcus (groove), connective tissue or simply by its shape. For example, there are the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the brain.
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Medication: 1. A drug or medicine. 2. The administration of a drug or medicine. (Note that "medication" does not have the dangerous double meaning of "drug.")
Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. 2. The process of recovering information about past events or knowledge. 3. Cognitive reconstruction. The brain engages in a remarkable reshuffling process in an attempt to extract what is general and what is particular about each passing moment.
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Mesial: 1. Toward the middle. As, for example, a mesial temporal lobe structure.
2. In dentistry, toward the middle of the front of the jaw.
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MST:: A multiple subpial transection (MST) is a procedure is used to help control seizures that begin in areas of the brain that cannot be safely removed. The surgeon makes a series of shallow cuts (transections) in the brain tissue. These cuts interrupt the movement of seizure impulses but do not disturb normal brain activity, leaving the person's abilities intact.
Multiple subpial transection (MST): A multiple subpial transection (MST) is a procedure is used to help control seizures that begin in areas of the brain that cannot be safely removed. The surgeon makes a series of shallow cuts (transections) in the brain tissue. These cuts interrupt the movement of seizure impulses but do not disturb normal brain activity, leaving the person's abilities intact.
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Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.
Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system.
Occipital: 1. Pertaining to the occiput, the back of head.
2. Located near the occipital bone as, for example, the occipital lobe of the brain.
Operation: Although there are many meanings to the word "operation", in medicine it refers to a surgical procedure.
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Parietal: Adjective from the Latin "parietalis" meaning "belonging to the wall" that the ancient anatomists used to designate the wall, as of a body cavity.
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Quality of life: An important consideration in medical care, quality of life refers to the patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Some medical treatments can seriously impair quality of life without providing appreciable benefit, while others greatly enhance quality of life.
Resection: Surgical removal of part of an organ.
Rest: 1. Repose. Relaxation.
2. A fragment of embryonic tissue that has been retained after the period of embryonic development. Also called an embryonic rest.
Seizure: Uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain, which may produce a physical convulsion, minor physical signs, thought disturbances, or a combination of symptoms.
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Sensation: In medicine and physiology , sensation refers to the registration of an incoming ( afferent ) nerve impulse in that part of the brain called the sensorium , which is capable of such perception. Therefore, the awareness of a stimulus as a result of its perception by sensory receptors. (Sensory is here synonymous with sensation.)
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Side effects: Problems that occur when treatment goes beyond the desired effect. Or problems that occur in addition to the desired therapeutic effect.
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Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The definition of a "surgeon" has begun to blur in recent years as surgeons have begun to minimize the cutting, employ new technologies that are "minimally invasive," use scopes, etc.
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Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Temporal: 1. Pertaining to time, limited in time, temporary, or transient.
2. Pertaining to the temple region of the head. The temporal lobe of the brain is located beneath the temple.
From the Latin tempus which means both time and the temple of the head.
Temporal lobe: The lobe of the cerebral hemisphere located down on the side just forward of the occipital lobe. The temporal lobe contains the auditory cortex which is responsible for hearing. It is also the site of the seizure activity characteristic of temporal-lobe epilepsy.
Temporal lobe epilepsy: See: Epilepsy, temporal-lobe.
Tissue: A tissue in medicine is not like a piece of tissue paper. It is a broad term that is applied to any group of cells that perform specific functions. A tissue in medicine need not form a layer. Thus, - The bone marrow is a tissue;
- Connective tissue consists of cells that make up fibers in the framework supporting other body tissues; and
- Lymphoid tissue is the part of the body's immune system that helps protect it from bacteria and other foreign entities.
Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be benign or malignant (cancerous). There are dozens of different types of tumors. Their names usually reflect the kind of tissue they arise in, and may also tell you something about their shape or how they grow. For example, a medulloblastoma is a tumor that arises from embryonic cells (a blastoma) in the inner part of the brain (the medulla). Diagnosis depends on the type and location of the tumor. Tumor marker tests and imaging may be used; some tumors can be seen (for example, tumors on the exterior of the skin) or felt (palpated with the hands).
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Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids: blood vessels or lymph vessels.
- Questions To Ask Before Surgery - Surgery questions to ask prior to having a procedure are important. Your surgeon should be available to answer your surgery questions prior to the procedure.
- Seizure (Epilepsy) - Learn about epilepsy, or seizure disorder. Causes include head injury, trauma, prenatal injury, poisoning, medications, stroke, heart attacks, alcoholism, infection, and more. Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment information is included in the information.
- Epilepsy Treatment - Information on Epilepsy treatment includes how epilepsy is treated, drug therapy, side effects, and surgery.
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