Copy of `Dorland's Medical Dictionary`

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Dorland's Medical Dictionary Category: Health and Medicine > Medical Dictionary Date & country: 31/12/2010, USA Words: 39128

cephalic presentation
presentation of any part of the fetal head in labor, whether the vertex, face, or brow.

cephalic tetanus
a rare form of tetanus that has a poor prognosis and sometimes follows injury to the head or face or a case of otitis media in which Clostridium tetani infects the middle ear. Characteristics include isolated or combined dysfunction of the cranial nerves, especially the seventh cranial. It may remain localized or progress to ge...

cephalic triangle
one on the anteroposterior plane of the skull, between lines from the occiput to the forehead and to the chin, and from the chin to the forehead.

cephalic vein
the superficial vein that arises from the radial side of the dorsal rete of the hand, and winds anteriorly to pass along the anterior border of the brachioradialis muscle; above the elbow it ascends along the lateral border of the biceps muscle and the pectoral border of the deltoid muscle, and opens into the axillary vei...

cephalic version
turning of the fetus so that the head is the presenting part.

cephalocaudal
(sef″ә-lo-kaw´dәl) pertaining to the long axis of the body, in a direction from head to tail; called also craniocaudal.

cephalocele
(sef´ә-lo-sēl″) encephalocele.

cephalocentesis
(sef″ә-lo-sen-te´sis) surgical puncture of the head.

cephalodactyly
(sef″ә-lo-dak´tә-le) malformation of the head and digits. Vogt cephalodactyly Apert-Crouzon disease.

cephalogram
(sef´ә-lo-gram) cephalometric radiograph.

cephalogyric
(sef″ә-lo-ji´rik) pertaining to turning motions of the head.

cephalohematoma
(sef″ә-lo-he″mә-to´mә) cephalhematoma.

cephalomelus
(sef″ә-lom´ә-lәs) a fetus with an accessory limb growing from the head.

cephalometer
(sef″ә-lom´ә-tәr) an instrument for measuring the head; an orienting device for positioning the head for radiographic examination and measurement.

cephalometry
(sef″ә-lom´ә-tre) a branch of anthropometry, being the measurement of the dimensions of the head of a living person, taken either directly or by radiography. adj., cephalomet´ric., adj.

cephalomotor
(sef″ә-lo-mo´tәr) moving the head; pertaining to motions of the head.

cephalonia
(sef″ә-lo´ne-ә) a condition in which the head is abnormally enlarged, with sclerotic hyperplasia of the brain.

cephalopathy
(sef″ә-lop´ә-the) any disease of the head.

cephalopelvic
(sef″ә-lo-pel´vik) pertaining to the relationship of the fetal head to the maternal pelvis. Cephalopelvic disproportion is a major factor in delivery by cesarean section.

cephalosporin
(sef″ә-lo-spor´in) any of a large group of broad-spectrum antibiotics from Acremonium (formerly Cephalosporium), a genus of soil-inhabiting fungi. Cephalosporins are similar in structure and antimicrobial action to penicillin. The cephalosporins have been classified by “generations” according to genera...

cephalosporinase
(sef″ә-lo-spor´in-ās) an enzyme that hydrolyzes the COsbondNH bond in the lactam ring of cephalosporin, converting it to an inactive product.

Cephalosporium
(sef″ә-lo-spor´e-әm) former name for Acremonium.

cephalostat
(sef´ә-lo-stat″) a head-positioning device used in dental radiology, facial photography, cephalometry, and other procedures requiring exact positioning of the head.

cephalothin
(sә-fal´o-thin) a semisynthetic first-generation cephalosporin, effective against a wide range of gram-positive and a limited range of gram-negative bacteria.

cephalothoracic
(sef″ә-lo-thә-ras´ik) pertaining to the head and thorax.

cephalothoracopagus
(sef″ә-lo-thor″ә-kop´ә-gәs) a twin fetus united at the head, neck, and thorax.

cephalotomy
(sef″ә-lot´ә-me) the cutting up of the fetal head to facilitate delivery. dissection of the fetal head.

cephapirin
(sef-ә-pi´rin) a semisynthetic first-generation cephalosporin effective against a wide variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria; used as the sodium salt.

cephradine
(sef´rә-dēn) a semisynthetic first-generation cephalosporin effective against a wide range of gram-positive and a limited range of gram-negative bacteria; administered orally or parenterally.

Cephulac
(sef´u-lak) trademark for a preparation of lactulose.

ceramic
(sә-ram´ik) an object or material that is hard, brittle, and resistant to corrosion and heat, made by subjecting clay or a combination of minerals to high temperatures.

ceramidase
(sә-ram´ĭ-dās) an enzyme occurring in most mammalian tissue that catalyzes the reversible acylation (incorporation of an acid radical) and deacylation (loss of an acid radical) in ceramides.

ceramide
(ser´ә-mīd) the basic unit of the sphingolipids, consisting of sphingosine or a related base that is attached via its amino group to a long-chain fatty acid anion. Ceramides accumulate abnormally in Farber disease.

ceramide trihexoside
the major sphingolipid accumulated in Fabry disease.

ceratocricoid muscle
a name given to a small bundle of muscle fibers arising from the cricoid cartilage and inserted on the inferior cornu (horn) of the thyroid cartilage. It is considered one of the intrinsic muscles of the larynx.

cercaria
(sәr-kar´e-ә) pl. cerca´riae the final, free-swimming larval stage of a parasitic fluke.

cercarial dermatitis
an itching dermatitis due to penetration into the skin of larval forms (cercaria) of schistosomes, found in those who bathe in infested waters. Called also swimmer's itch.

cerclage
(ser-klahzh´) encircling of a part with a ring or loop, as for correction of an incompetent cervix uteri or fixation of the adjacent ends of a fractured bone. Cerclage of an incompetent cervix uteri, the inset showing the effect of the tightened suture.

cercus
(sur´kәs) a bristle-like structure.

cerea flexibilitas
(sēr´e-ә flek″sĭ-bil´ĭ-tas) Latin phrase meaning waxy flexibility.

cerebellar
(ser″ә-bel´әr) pertaining to the cerebellum.

cerebellar ataxia
cerebellar syndrome ataxia due to disease of the cerebellum.

cerebellar cortex
the superficial gray matter of the cerebellum.

cerebellar nuclei
four accumulations of gray matter embedded in the white matter of the cerebellum, comprising the dentate nucleus, emboliform nucleus, nucleus globosus, and nucleus fastigii.

cerebellar peduncles
three sets of paired bundles (superior, middle, and inferior) connecting the cerebellum to the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata, respectively.

cerebellitis
(ser″ә-bel-i´tis) inflammation of the cerebellum.

cerebellopontine angle
the angle between the cerebellum and the pons.

cerebellopontine angle syndrome
a syndrome caused by a tumor of the cerebellopontine angle or an acoustic tumor, characterized by hearing loss, subjective noises, ipsilateral cerebellar ataxia, and eventually ipsilateral impairment of function of the sixth and seventh cranial nerves accompanied by elevated intracranial pressure.

cerebellum
(ser″ә-bel´әm) the part of the metencephalon (midbrain) located behind the brainstem, to which it is attached by three peduncles on each side (the cerebellar peduncles); it consists of a median lobe (vermis) and two lateral lobes (the cerebellar hemispheres). The cerebellum has connections through the midbra...

cerebral
(sә-re´brәl) (ser´ә-brәl) pertaining to the cerebrum.

cerebral aneurysm
berry aneurysm.

cerebral cortex
the convoluted layer of gray matter covering each cerebral hemisphere; it is the thinking and reasoning part of the brain, and the part that receives information from the senses and directs the conscious movements of the body. On its surface, the cortex has a deep longitudinal fissure that divides it into symmetrical halves; ea...

cerebral cortex reflex
Haab reflex.

cerebral decompression
removal of a flap of the skull and incision of the dura mater for relief of excessive intracranial pressure.

cerebral edema
swelling of the brain caused by the accumulation of fluid in the brain substance. It may result from head injury, stroke, infection, hypoxia, brain tumors, obstructive hydrocephalus, or lead encephalopathy; it may also be caused by disturbances in fluid and electrolyte balance that accompany hemodialysis and diabetic ketoacidosis. Th...

cerebral fossa
any of the depressions on the floor of the cranial cavity.

cerebral gyrus
gyrus.

cerebral hemorrhage
a hemorrhage into the cerebrum; one of the three main causes of stroke syndrome.

cerebral hernia
protrusion of brain substance through a defect in the skull.

cerebral infarction
an ischemic condition of the brain, causing a persistent focal neurologic deficit in the area affected.

cerebral nerves
cranial nerves.

cerebral palsy
a term used to describe a type of neuromotor condition that is a disorder of movement and posture resulting from an injury to the immature brain. This can occur because the central nervous system has not developed properly from the start (a developmental anomaly), or it can be the result of injury to a previously normally devel...

cerebral paralysis
paralysis caused by a brain lesion; see also cerebral palsy.

cerebral peduncle
the anterior half of the midbrain, divisible into a posterior part (tegmentum) and an anterior part (crus cerebri), which are separated by the substantia nigra.

cerebral perfusion pressure
the mean arterial pressure minus the intracranial pressure, a measure of the adequacy of cerebral blood flow.

cerebral sulci
the furrows on the surface of the brain between the gyri (see gyrus).

cerebral tetanus
cephalic tetanus.

cerebral tuberculosis
tuberculous meningitis.

cerebral vertigo
vertigo resulting from a brain lesion, such as in meningogenic labyrinthitis. Called also organic vertigo.

cerebration
(ser″ә-bra´shәn) normal and appropriate activity of the brain.

cerebrocardiac syndrome
Krishaber disease.

cerebrocerebellar
(ser″ә-bro-ser″ә-bel´әr) pertaining to the cerebrum and the cerebellum.

cerebrocostomandibular syndrome
an autosomal recessive syndrome of severe micrognathia and costovertebral abnormalities, including small bell-shaped thorax, incompletely ossified aberrant rib structure, and abnormal rib attachment to vertebrae. Also present are palatal defects, glossoptosis, prenatal and postnatal growth deficiencies, and mental retarda...

cerebrohepatorenal syndrome
(ser″ә-bro-hep″ә-to-re´nәl) Zellweger syndrome.

cerebroid
(ser´ә-broid) resembling cerebral substance.

cerebromacular
(ser″ә-bro-mak´u-lәr) pertaining to or affecting the brain and the macula retinae; called also maculocerebral.

cerebromacular degeneration
cerebroretinal degeneration degeneration of brain cells and of the macula retinae, as occurs in Tay-Sachs disease. any lipidosis with cerebral lesions and degeneration of the retinal macula. any form of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis.

cerebromalacia
(ser″ә-bro-mә-la´shә) abnormal softening of the substance of the cerebrum.

cerebromeningitis
(ser″ә-bro-men″in-ji´tis) meningoencephalitis.

cerebronic acid
(ser″ә-bron´ik) a fatty acid derived from sphingomyelin, which is the principal hydroxy saturated acid from the brain.

cerebropathy
(ser″ә-brop´ә-the) any disorder of the cerebrum; see also encephalopathy.

cerebrophysiology
(ser″ә-bro-fiz″e-ol´ә-je) the physiology of the brain.

cerebropontile
(ser″ә-bro-pon´tīl) pertaining to the cerebrum and pons.

cerebrosclerosis
(ser″ә-bro″sklә-ro´sis) morbid hardening of the substance of the cerebrum.

cerebroside
(sә-re´bro-sīd″) a general designation for sphingolipids in which sphingosine is combined with galactose or glucose; found chiefly in nervous tissue.

cerebrosis
(ser″ә-bro´sis) cerebropathy.

cerebrospinal
(ser″ә-bro-spi´nәl) pertaining to the brain and spinal cord.

cerebrospinal fever
meningococcal meningitis.

cerebrospinal fluid
the fluid within the subarachnoid space, the spinal canal, and the four ventricles of the brain. It is formed continuously by the choroid plexuses in the ventricles, and, so that there will not be an abnormal increase in fluid amount and intracranial pressure, it is reabsorbed into the blood by the arachnoid villi at approximately th...

cerebrospinal fluid fistula
an abnormal passage between the subarachnoid space and a body cavity, such as from head trauma or bone erosion, with leakage of cerebrospinal fluid, usually in the form of rhinorrhea or otorrhea.

cerebrospinal ganglia
those associated with the cranial and spinal nerves.

cerebrospinal meningitis
an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord; it may be caused by any of numerous different organisms.

cerebrospinal pressure
the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid, normally 100 to 150 mm Hg.

cerebrospinal syphilis
Erb spastic paraplegia.

cerebrotendinous
(ser″ә-bro-ten´dĭ-nәs) pertaining to the cerebrum and the tendons.

cerebrotomy
(ser″ә-brot´ә-me) incision of the brain.

cerebrovascular
(ser″ә-bro-vas´ku-lәr) pertaining to the blood vessels of the cerebrum, or brain.

cerebrum
(sә-re´brәm) (ser´ә-brәm) the main portion of the brain, occupying the upper part of the cranial cavity; its two cerebral hemispheres are united by the corpus callosum and form the largest part of the central nervous system in humans. The term is sometimes extended to refer to the post...

cerium
(Ce) (sēr´e-әm) a chemical element, atomic number 58, atomic weight 140.12.

cerivastatin
(sĕ-riv´ah-stat″in) an inhibitor of an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol, formerly used in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Withdrawn from the market because it is associated with an increased risk for rhabdomyolysis.