| A | B |
|---|
| acrophobia | a morbid fear of great heights |
| amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord; results in progressive muscle atrophy that starts in the limbs |
| anesthetic | a drug that causes temporary loss of bodily sensations |
| anesthetist | a specialist who administers an anesthetic to a patient before he is treated |
| anorexia nervosa | (psychiatry) a psychological disorder characterized by somatic delusions that one is too fat despite being emaciated |
| anxiety disorder | a cover term for a variety of mental disorders in which severe anxiety is a salient symptom |
| autism | a syndrome involving social and communication disorders |
| causalgia | a burning pain in a limb along the course of a peripheral nerve; usually associated with skin changes |
| cerebral palsy | a loss or deficiency of motor control with involuntary spasms caused by permanent brain damage present at birth |
| cerebrovascular accident | a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain |
| claustrophobia | a morbid fear of being closed in a confined space |
| multiple sclerosis | a chronic progressive nervous disorder involving loss of myelin sheath around certain nerve fibers |
| myelitis | inflammation of the spinal cord |
| myelography | roentgenography of the spinal cord to detect possible lesions (usually after injection of a contrast medium into the subarachnoid space) |
| narcolepsy | a disorder characterized by sudden episodes of deep sleep |
| neurotransmitter | a neurochemical that transmits nerve impulses across a synapse |
| obsessive-compulsive disorder | an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and persistent thoughts and feelings and repetitive, ritualized behaviors |
| panic attack | a sudden attack of fear |
| paresthesia | abnormal skin sensations (as tingling or tickling or itching or burning) usually associated with peripheral nerve damage |
| schizophrenia | a psychotic disorder characterized by distortions of reality |
| sciatica | neuralgia along the sciatic nerve |
| seizure | the taking possession of something by legal process |
| syncope | the loss of sounds from within a word |
| trigeminal neuralgia | intense paroxysmal neuralgia along the trigeminal nerve |
| cognition | the psychological result of perception and reasoning |
| coma | a state of deep and often prolonged unconsciousness |
| concussion | injury to the brain caused by a blow |
| delirium | a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion |
| delirium tremens | acute delirium caused by alcohol poisoning |
| delusion | a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea |
| dementia | mental deterioration of organic or functional origin |
| dura mater | the outermost (and toughest) of the 3 meninges |
| dyslexia | impaired ability to learn to read |
| echoencephalography | a noninvasive diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasound to study the anatomy of the brain |
| encephalitis | inflammation of the brain usually caused by a virus |
| epidural anesthesia | regional anesthesia resulting from injection of an anesthetic into the epidural space of the spinal cord; sensation is lost in the abdominal and genital and pelvic areas; used in childbirth and gynecological surgery |
| epilepsy | a nervous disorder characterized by convulsions |
| hallucination | illusory perception |
| hemorrhagic stroke | stroke caused by the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain |
| hydrocephalus | an abnormal condition in which cerebrospinal fluid collects in the ventricles of the brain; in infants it can cause abnormally rapid growth of the head and bulging fontanelles and a small face; in adults the symptoms are primarily neurological |
| ischemic stroke | the most common kind of stroke |
| lethargy | inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy |
| meningitis | infectious disease characterized by inflammation of the meninges (the tissues that surround the brain or spinal cord) usually caused by a bacterial infection; symptoms include headache and stiff neck and fever and nausea |
| meningocele | a congenital anomaly of the central nervous system in which a sac protruding from the brain or the spinal meninges contains cerebrospinal fluid (but no nerve tissue) |
