Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

Spina bifida
Is a condition that often has disabling consequences. With severe spina bifida, a person’s legs and feet are paralyzed, and there are problems with bowel and bladder control. Learning disabilities are common, and mental retardation sometimes occurs

Cardiovascular Birth Defect
Conotruncal heart defects, septal heart defects, obstructive heart defects, atrioventricular septal defects, single ventricle, anomalous pulmonary venous return, heterotaxy, Ebstein malformation.

Jackson-Weiss syndrome
Many of the characteristic facial features of Jackson-Weiss syndrome result from the premature fusion of the skull bones. The head is unable to grow normally, which can lead to a misshapen skull, widely spaced eyes, and a bulging forehead. Foot abnormalities are the most consistent characteristic, as not all individuals with Jackson-Weiss syndrome have abnormal skull or facial features.

stroke
A condition produced by a blood clot that lodges in an artery and blocks the flow of blood to a portion of the brain, producing symptoms ranging from paralysis of limbs and loss of speech to unconsciousness and death. Less commonly, a stroke may be the result of bleeding into the substance of the brain.

Genitourinary Birth Defect
Renal agenesis (bilateral), hypospadias (2nd or 3rd degree)

Crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome
Crouzonodermoskeletal syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by the remature joining of certain bones of the skull (craniosynostosis) and a skin disorder called acanthosis nigricans.

neural tube defect
A structure in early fetal life that develops into the brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves and spine.

brain
The part of the central nervous system inside the skull. Its functions include muscle control and coordination, sensory reception and integration, speech production, memory storage and the elaboration of thought and emotion.

vascular dementia
A common form of dementia that results either from narrowing and blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the brain or by strokes that cause an interruption of blood flow within the brain.

endorphins
Naturally occurring molecules made up of amino acids. Endorphins attach to special receptors in the brain and spinal cord to inhibit pain signals.