| cranial vertebra | A segment of the skull regarded as homologous with a segment of the vertebral column. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| posterior cranial fossa | The internal base of the skull posterior to the crest of the petrous part of the temporal bones and the dorsum sellae and anterior to the grooves for the transverse sinuses, where the cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata rest. Synonym: fossa cranii posterior. (05 Mar 2000) |
| prophylactic cranial irradiation | Radiation therapy to the head to prevent cancer from spreading to the brain. (12 Dec 1998) |
| second cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The optic nerve. The nerve carrying impulses for the sense of sight. Projection from the vertebrate retina to the midbrain. Embryologically, a CNS tract rather than a peripheral nerve. Popular experimental preparation for studies of regeneration of retino tectal projections in lower vertebrates and also for studies of glial cell lineage in CNS. Synonym: cranial nerve II. (18 Nov 1997) |
| seventh cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The facial nerve enervates the muscles of the face (facial expression). Lesion of the facial nerve cause a drooping to one side of the face, inability to wrinkle the forehead, inability to whistle, inability to close the eye and deviation of the mouth to the unaffected side. Synonym: cranial nerve VII. (27 Sep 1997) |
| sixth cranial nerve | <anatomy> The abducent nerve enervates a muscle which moves the eyeball. Lesions of the sixth cranial nerve result in deviation of the eyeball outward and double vision. Synonym: cranial nerve VI. (27 Sep 1997) |
| ninth cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The glossopharyngeal nerve enervates muscles involved in swallowing and taste. Lesions of the ninth nerve result in difficulty swallowing and disturbance of taste. Synonym: cranial nerve IX. (27 Sep 1997) |
| nuclei of cranial nerves | Groups of nerve cells associated with the cranial nerves either as motor nuclei (nuclei originis) or sensory nuclei (nuclei terminationis). Synonym: nuclei nervorum cranialium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| detached cranial section | Craniotomy with section of cranium separated from its soft tissue attachments. Synonym: detached cranial section. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dystonia, cranial | A term used to describe dystonia that affects the muscles of the head, face, and neck. Oromandibular dystonia affects the muscles of the jaw, lips, and tongue. The jaw may be pulled either open or shut, and speech and swallowing can be difficult. Spasmodic dysphonia involves the muscles of the throat that control speech. Also called spastic dysphonia or laryngeal dystonia, it causes strained and difficult speaking or breathy and effortful speech. Meige's syndrome is the combination of blepharospasm and oromandibular dystonia and sometimes spasmodic dysphonia. Spasmodic torticollis can be classified as a type of cranial dystonia. (12 Dec 1998) |
| tenth cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The vagus nerve enervates the gut (gastrointestinal tract), heart and larynx. Lesions of the tenth nerve usually result in a horse voice, but may also cause difficulty in swallowing or talking. Synonym: cranial nerve X. (27 Sep 1997) |
| third cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> Responsible for motor enervation of upper eyelid muscle, extraocular muscle and pupillary muscle. Lesions of the oculomotor nerve results in ptosis (dropping eyelid), deviation of the eyeball outward, double vision and a dilated pupil. (27 Sep 1997) |
| eighth cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The vestibulocochlear nerve is responsible for the sense of hearing and balance (body position sense). Lesions of the eighth nerve can result in deafness, tinnitus, dizziness, vertigo and vomiting. Synonym: cranial nerve VIII. (27 Sep 1997) |
| eleventh cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The accessory nerve enervates the sternocleidomastoid muscles and the trapezius muscles. Lesions of the eleventh result in drooping of the shoulder and inability to rotate the head away from the affected side. Synonym: cranial nerve XI. (27 Sep 1997) |
| twelfth cranial nerve | <anatomy, nerve> The hypoglossal nerve enervates the muscles of the tongue. Lesions of the twelfth cranial nerve result in deviation of the tongue toward the paralysed side and thick speech. Synonym: cranial nerve XII. (27 Sep 1997) |