Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

Orofacial Birth Defect
Choanal atresia, cleft lip, cleft palate

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

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.

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.

Guillain-Barre (ge-YAH buh-RA) syndrome
An inflammatory disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves) and, more rarely, parts of the brain itself.

amygdala
uh-MIG-duh-luh). A part of the brain that oversees emotions and triggers your response to danger.

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.

CBDRP
Centers for Birth Defects Research & Prevention

hypothalamus
The part of the brain that controls body functions such as eating, sleeping and sexual behavior, maintains body temperature and chemical balance, and regulates many hormones.

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