Convulsions. Epilepsy. Seizures are caused by temporary disruption in electrical activity of the brain.

Bony structure at the base of the skull in which the pituitary gland rests. A depression in the middle line of the upper surface of the sphenoid bone in which the pituitary gland is lodged.

A non-invasive measurement made with calipers from which the percentage body fat can be estimated. A non-invasive measurement made with calipers from which the percentage body fat can be estimated.

Increased involuntary muscle contraction (the opposite of hypotonicity). Spasticity is a condition in which certain muscles are continuously contracted. This contraction causes stiffness or tightness of the muscles and may interfere with movement, speech, and manner...

An instrument for enlarging the opening of any canal or cavity in order to facilitate inspection of its interior. An instrument for enlarging the opening of any canal or cavity in order to facilitate inspection of its interior.

Either of two irregular cavities in the body of the sphenoid bone that communicate with the nasal cavities. Sinus (cavity lined with mucosa) that lies directly behind the nose and in front of the pituitary gland - the back wall of which makes up the anterior wall of...

Also known as cerebrospinal fluid. Clear colorless liquid secreted by the choroid plexus of the lateral, third, and fourth ventricles, and contained within the ventricular system of the brain and spinal cord and within the subarachnoid space. See cerebrospinal...

Somatotropin release inhibiting factor (same as GHRIH). Often referred to as somatostatin. A number of drugs to treat GH excess act like this native hypothalamic hormone.

A stem. Usually refers to the pituitary stalk that connects the pituitary gland to the hypothalamus. A stem. Usually refers to the pituitary stalk that connects the pituitary gland to the hypothalamus.

Device used to maintain a bodily orifice or cavity during skin grafting, or to immobilize a skin graft after placement. Slender thread, rod, or catheter, lying within the space in the interior of a tubular structure, such as an artery or the intestine. Used to provide...

Precise positioning in three dimensional space. Refers to surgery or radiation therapy directed by various scanning devices.

A radiation therapy technique that uses a large number of narrow, precisely aimed, highly focused beams of ionizing radiation. The stereotactic radiosurgery beams are aimed from many directions circling the head, and meet at a specific point. Stereotactic radiosurgery...

See glucocorticosteroids. Also called: Corticosteroids, Glucocorticoids. Anabolic steroids can have harmful effects, but corticosteroids treat a variety of problems. Corticosteroids steroids are similar to hormones that the adrenal glands produce to fight stress...

The sudden development of localized disturbances in the nervous system, usually related to reduced blood in the brain. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into...

Beneath the skin. Cutaneous, meaning having to do with the skin; subcutaneous means beneath or under the skin. For example, a cyst located under the skin is a subcutaneous cyst; a subcutaneous port is a tube surgically placed into a blood vessel and attached to a disk...

Below the lips or labium. Surgical incision below the lip, above the front teeth in the gum line, providing access to the nostril, or followed by splitting the palate (bone) to eventually access the sphenoid sinus.

Extending below the sella turcica. The sella turcica is the bony structure at the base of the skull in which the pituitary gland rests.

Above the orbit. Situated or occurring above the orbit (eye socket, orbital cavity) of the eye.