D factor
| brain tumour | <oncology, tumour> May be subdivided into primary brain tumours and the more common, secondary brain tumours. Primary brain tumours (for example astrocytoma, craniopharyngioma, glioma, ependymoma, neuroglioma, oligodendroglioma, glioblastoma multiforme, meningioma, medulloblastoma) arise from the uncontrolled proliferation of cells within the brain. Secondary brain tumours occur from the spread of cancer into the brain from a distant cancerous organ (metastasis). Common symptoms of a brain tumour include headache, nausea, vomiting, seizures, change in mentation, neurologic symptoms and loss of memory. (17 Dec 1997) |
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| brain tumour calcifications | <radiology> Oligodendroglioma (90%), craniopharyngioma (70%), ependymoma (60%), choroid plexus papilloma (25%), low-grade astrocytoma (20%), meningioma (10%), others, dermoid, pineal tumours, lipoma, caveat: a calcified intraparenchymal tumour is most likely to be an astrocytoma due to higher overall incidence relative to other tumours mentioned above. Source: Duke review manual (12 Dec 1998) |
| brain tumours | Can be malignant or benign and can occur at any age. Primary brain tumours initially form in the brain tissue. Secondary brain tumours are cancers that have spread to the brain tissue (metastasized) from tissue elsewhere in the body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| brain wave | Colloquialism for electroencephalogram. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brain wave complex | A specific combination of fast and slow electroencephalographic activity that recurs frequently enough to be identified as a discrete phenomenon. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brain wave cycle | The complete upward and downward excursion of a single wave, complex, or impulse as seen on an electroencephalogram. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brain wave test | <investigation> A diagnostic test which measures the electrical activity of the brain (brain waves) using high sensitive recording equipment attached to the scalp by fine electrodes. Commonly employed in the evaluation of neurological disease (for example seizures, epilepsy, etc.). Acronym: EEG (13 Nov 1997) |
| Brain, W Russell Lord | <person> English physician, 1895-1966. See: Brain's reflex. (05 Mar 2000) |
| bulb of posterior horn of lateral ventricle of brain | Bulb of posterior horn of lateral ventricle of the brain; a curved elevation on the inner wall of the posterior horn produced by the fibres of the forceps major of the corpus callosum as they bend backward into the occipital lobe. Synonym: bulb of posterior horn of lateral ventricle of brain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cancer, brain | Cancer of the central information processing centre of the body. Tumours in the brain can be malignant or benign and can occur at any age. Primary brain tumours initially form in the brain tissue. Secondary brain tumours are cancers that have spread to the brain tissue (metastasized) from elsewhere in the body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| visceral brain | Collective term denoting a heterogeneous array of brain structures at or near the edge (limbus) of the medial wall of the cerebral hemisphere, in particular the hippocampus, amygdala, and fornicate gyrus; the term is often used so as to include also the interconnections of these structures, as well as their connections with the septal area, the hypothalamus, and a medial zone of mesencephalic tegmentum. By way of the latter connections, the limbic system exerts an important influence upon the endocrine and autonomic motor system's; its functions also appear to affect motivational and mood states. Synonym: visceral brain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| medullary arteries of brain | Branches of the cortical artery's which penetrate to and supply the white matter of the cerebrum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| respirator brain | A swollen and congested brain with necrotic and autolytic changes seen in patients who have been on a respirator. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ring lesions in brain | <radiology> Hypodense, peripherally enhancing lesions, ** mnemonic: MAGIC DR., metastasis, abscess, glioma, granuloma, infarct, contusion, demyelination, resolving haematoma (12 Dec 1998) |
| metastatic brain tumour | A malignant growth in brain tissue that has spread from another primary cancer site (for example breast cancer, malignant melanoma, lung cancer) in the body. (27 Sep 1997) |