| cerebral aqueduct | An ependymal-lined canal in the mesencephalon about 20 mm long, connecting the third to the fourth ventricle. Synonym: aqueductus cerebri, aqueduct of cerebrum, aqueductus sylvii, iter a tertio ad quartum ventriculum, sylvian aqueduct. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| cerebral arterial circle | The roughly pentagonally shaped circle of vessels on the ventral aspect of the brain in the area of the optic chiasm, hypothalamus, and interpeduncular fossa. See: circle of Willis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral arteries | The arteries supplying the cerebral cortex. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cerebral arteriography | Radiography of the vascular system of the brain after injection of a contrast medium. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cerebral arteriovenous malformations | Vascular anomalies in which tangles of arteries are connected directly to veins without intervening capillaries. The resulting vessels are thin-walled owing to poorly developed elastic and muscle tissue within the media. They can be located anywhere in the brain and can produce headaches, seizures, focal neurologic deficits, or intracranial haemorrhage. Familial cases are rare, indicating that the problem reflects sporadic abnormalities in embryologic development. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cerebral calculus | A concretion in the brain or one of its ventricles. Synonym: cerebral calculus. Origin: encephalo-+ G. Lithos, stone (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral cladosporiosis | A mycotic brain infection due to Cladosporium trichoides (bantianum); macroscopically infected tissue has a characteristic brown colour. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral compression | Pressure upon the intracranial tissues by an effusion of blood or cerebrospinal fluid, an abscess, a neoplasm, a depressed fracture of the skull, or an oedema of the brain. Synonym: compression of brain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral contusion | A bruise to the brain resulting from a head injury. May be visualised on a CT scan of the head. (27 Sep 1997) |
| cerebral cortex | The outer portion of the brain, consisting of layersof nerve cells and the pathways that connect them. The cerebralcortex is the part of the brain in which thought processes take place.In Alzheimer's disease, nerve cells in the cerebral cortex die. (22 May 1997) |
| cerebral death | A clinical syndrome characterised by the permanent loss of cerebral and brain stem function, manifested by absence of responsiveness to external stimuli, absence of cephalic reflexes, and apnea. An isoelectric electroencephalogram for at least 30 minutes in the absence of hypothermia and poisoning by central nervous system depressants supports the diagnosis. Synonym: brain death. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral decompression | Removal of a piece of the cranium, usually in the subtemporal region, with incision of the dura, to relieve intracranial pressure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral decortication | Partial or total removal, ablation, or destruction of the cerebral cortex; may be chemical. It is not used with animals that do not possess a cortex, i.e., it is used only with mammals. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cerebral dominance | The fact that one hemisphere is dominant over the other and will exercise greater influence over certain functions; the left cerebral hemisphere is usually dominant in the control of speech, language and analytical processing, and mathematics, while the right hemisphere (usually nondominant) processes spatial concepts and language as related to certain types of visual images; handedness (right-handed people have left cerebral dominance) is considered a general example of cerebral dominance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cerebral dysplasia | Abnormal development of the telencephalon. (05 Mar 2000) |