Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

hematoma
A collection of blood within the brain or on its surface that can cause increased pressure, which can damage brain cells and interrupt blood flow.

hippocampus
Part of the brain that assists in storing memory by sorting and sending new bits of information to be stored in appropriate sections of your brain and recalling them when necessary.

Pfeiffer syndrome
Many of the characteristic facial features of Pfeiffer syndrome result from the premature fusion of the skull bones. The head is unable to grow normally, which leads to bulging and wide-set eyes, an underdeveloped upper jaw, and a beaked nose.

aneurysm
The localized enlargement of a blood vessel, usually an artery, that forms a bulge or sac.

Parkinson's disease
A progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain that helps control muscle movement.

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

trigeminal neuralgia
A painful condition caused by a disturbance in the function of the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain.

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

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.

cerebral palsy
A disorder caused by injury to the cerebral area of the brain that occurs before or during birth or in the first few months after birth. Damage to the cerebrum may cause paralysis (palsy) in one or more parts of the body.