| Pick's bundle | A bundle of nerve fibres recurving rostralward from the pyramidal tract in the medulla oblongata, and believed to consist of corticonuclear fibres. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| pick's disease | A form of dementia characterised by a slowly progressive deterioration of social skills and changes in personality leading to impairment of intellect, memory, and language. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Pick's syndrome | A form of dementia characterised by a slowly progressive deterioration of social skills and changes in personality leading to impairment of intellect, memory, and language. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Pick's tubular adenoma | A neoplasm of the ovary, arising from the ovarian stroma, mimicking to a greater or lesser extent derivatives of the sex cord mesenchyme of the testis, and sometimes causing defeminization and virilization. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Niemann-Pick cell | A relatively large, rounded or polygonal, mononuclear cell, with indistinctly or palely staining, foamlike cytoplasm that contains numerous droplets of a phosphatide, sphingomyelin; such cell's are widely distributed in the spleen and other tissues, especially those rich in reticuloendothelial components, in patients with Niemann-Pick disease. Synonym: Niemann-Pick cell. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Niemann-Pick disease | <disease> A family of severe lysosomal storage diseases resulting in an accumulation of sphingomyelin and other phospholipids in the reticuloendothelial system. The best studied forms are due to deficiency of sphingomyelinase and it is more common in Ashkenazi Jews than other groups. Clinical signs include foam cells in the blood and marrow, hepatosplenomegaly and neurologic degeneration. Diagnosis is confirmed by enzyme assay on leukocytes or fibroblasts and specific mutations in the gene are now recognised. (29 Dec 1997) |
| disease, pick's | A form of dementia characterised by a slowly progressive deterioration of social skills and changes in personality leading to impairment of intellect, memory, and language. (12 Dec 1998) |
| benign headache | A benign form of headache that results from the painful spasm (muscle tightness) and inflammation of muscles of the head and neck. Tension headache is one of the most common forms of headache. Spasm and contraction of the head and neck muscles may occur in response to fatigue, overuse, eye strain, excessive smoking, stress, anxiety or depression. Sleeping in an abnormal position or prolonged work involving immobilisation of the neck in one position (typing, computers, etc.) are considered common triggers. Exercising and stretching the muscles of the head and neck can reduce the occurrence of muscle tension headaches. (27 Sep 1997) |
| bilious headache | <disease> An often familial symptom complex of periodic attacks of vascular headache, usually temporal and unilateral in onset, commonly associated with irritability, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea and often photophobia, attacks are preceded by constriction of the cranial arteries, usually with resultant prodromal sensory (especially ocular) symptoms and commence with the vasodilation that follows. Origin: Gr. Hemikrania = an affection of half of the head (18 Nov 1997) |
| blind headache | <disease> An often familial symptom complex of periodic attacks of vascular headache, usually temporal and unilateral in onset, commonly associated with irritability, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea and often photophobia, attacks are preceded by constriction of the cranial arteries, usually with resultant prodromal sensory (especially ocular) symptoms and commence with the vasodilation that follows. Origin: Gr. Hemikrania = an affection of half of the head (18 Nov 1997) |
| vacuum headache | Headache due to closure of the frontal sinus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| vascular headache | <neurology> A group of headaches felt to involve abnormal sensitivity of the blood vessels (arteries) in the brain to various triggers which results in rapid changes in the artery size due to spasm (constriction). Other arteries in the brain and scalp then open (dilate), and throbbing pain is perceived in the head. Migraine headaches are the most common type of vascular headache. (07 Mar 2000) |
| reflex headache | A headache secondary to another organic condition. Synonym: reflex headache. (05 Mar 2000) |
| migraine headache | The most common type of vascular headache involving (it is thought). Abnormal sensitivity of blood vessels (arteries) in the brain to various triggers resulting in rapid changes in the artery size due to spasm (constriction). Other arteries in the brain and scalp then open (dilate), and throbbing pain is perceived in the head. The tendency to migraine is inherited and appears to involve serotonin, a chemical in the brain involved in the transmission of nerve impulses that trigger the release of substances in the blood vessels that in turn cause the pain of the migraine. These nerve impulses cause the flashing lights and other sensory phenomena known as an aura that may accompany a migraine. Not all severe headaches are migraines and not all migraines are severe. (12 Dec 1998) |
| migraine without headache | A classic migraine episode in which the teichopsia is not followed by a headache. Synonym: migraine without headache. (05 Mar 2000) |