Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Encephalopyosis

    An abscess of the brain.  

  • Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy

    Neurological illnesses marked by rapidly developing dementia, or the sudden onset of psychiatric illnesses, often with myoclonus, ataxia, and aphasia. Death may occur within months of onset. These illnesses are believed to be caused by infectious proteins called prions. Examples include kuru, mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), and Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease.    

  • Portal-systemic encephalopathy

    Brain dysfunction present in patients with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension, in which chemicals that the liver normally detoxifies are shunted past it and left to circulate in the blood. Some patients are asymptomatic; others have mild impairments in memory, calculation, speech, affect, or judgment. Severely affected patients may lapse into coma.  

  • Metabolic encephalopathy

    Any alteration of brain function or consciousness that results from the failure of other internal organs. In the hospital, metabolic encephalopathy is among the most common causes of altered mental status. Renal failure, liver injury, electrolyte or acid base abnormalities, hypoxia, hypercarbia, and inadequate brain perfusion caused by a failing heart are but some of…

  • Hypoxic encephalopathy

    The neurological damage that results from depriving the brain of oxygen or blood, or both, for several minutes. The damage may range from a transient loss of short-term memory to persistent vegetative coma. Many conditions can result in an oxygen deficiency in the brain, which is acutely dependent on oxygen, blood, and glucose to work…

  • Encephalomyocarditis

    Any disease involving the brain and cardiac muscle.  

  • Encephalomyeloradiculitis

    Inflammation of the brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots.  

  • Encephalomyeloneuropathy

    Any disease involving the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.  

  • Postvaccinal encephalomyelitis

    Encephalomyelitis following smallpox vaccination.  

  • Paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis

    An inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system that occurs in the setting of a cancer found in another part of the body and probably results from the remote effects of some antigen or hormone released by the tumor.