Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

An abnormality of motor function (the ability to move and control movements) that is acquired at an early age, usually less than 1 year, and is due to a brain lesion that is nonprogressive. Abbreviated CP. CP is frequently the result of abnormalities that occur while a fetus is developing inside the womb. Such abnormalities may include accidents of brain…

Accumulation of excessive fluid in the substance of the brain. The brain is especially susceptible to injury from edema, because it is located within a confined space and cannot expand. Also known as brain edema, brain swelling, swelling of the brain, and wet brain.

Of or pertaining to the cerebrum or the brain.

Relating to the head or the head end of the body. Situated on, in, or near the head. Cephalic is synonymous with cranial, relating to the cranium or head. The word “cephalic” came from the Middle French “cephalique,” from the Latin “cephalicus”, from the Greek “kephalikos” meaning head.

Headache.

Prefix indicating the head.

A type of chromosome rearrangement, also called a Robertsonian translocation, in which there is fusion of an entire long arm of one acrocentric chromosome with a similarly intact long arm of another acrocentric chromosome. The short arms of the chromosomes participating in the translocation are usually lost. Acrocentric chromosomes have their centromere near but not at the…

A process in which millions of cells change light into nerve signals that tell the brain what the person is seeing. As a person reads, drives, and performs other activities that require fine, sharp, straight-ahead vision, light is focused onto the macula in the center of the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the…

A catheter (tube) that is passed through a vein to end up in the thoracic (chest) portion of the vena cava (the large vein returning blood to the heart) or in the right atrium of the heart. Central venous lines have a number of different uses. A central venous line allows concentrated solutions to be infused with less risk of complications. It permits monitoring of…

The central nervous system is that part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord. The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the two major divisions of the nervous system. The other is the peripheral nervous system (PNS) which is outside the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) connects the central nervous system…