Glossary Index by Letter

Dexamethasone. A glucocorticosteroid medication used to reduce brain tissue swelling. Also used, in low doses, to treat adrenal insufficiency.

Refers to a surgical procedure during which bone, tissue, or tumor is removed to lessen intracranial pressure. Decompressive craniectomy is an advanced treatment option for intracranial pressure (ICP) control in patients with traumatic brain injury.

A mature cell returning to a less mature state. See differentiate, undifferentiated. In cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumor. Differentiated tumor cells resemble normal cells and tend to grow and spread at a slower rate than...

See drug delivery.

The amount of darkness or light in an area of a scan reflects the compactness and density of tissue. The amount of darkness or light in an area of a scan reflects the compactness and density of tissue. Differences in tissue density are the basis for CT and MR...

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. A technique used to measure bone mineral density, but which can also be used to measure body composition. Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) is a test that uses x-rays to measure the thickness of the bones in the hip, spine,...

A problem with water balance in the body causing excess urine production and great thirst, due to pituitaryhypothalamic damage. Diabetes mellitus, which has the same symptoms, is due to insufficient insulin production by the pancreas. Diabetes Insipidus symptoms...

A metabolic disease in which carbohydrate utilization is reduced and that of lipid and protein enhanced; it is caused by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin and is characterized, in more severe cases, by chronic hyperglycemia, glycosuria, water and...

An expert in the practical application of diet in the prevention of disease or of a process that can lead to disease, and in the treatment of disease. Plan and conduct food-service or nutritional programs to assist in the promotion of health and disease control. May...

The process cells undergo as they mature into normal cells. Differentiated cells have distinctive characteristics, perform specific functions, and are less likely to divide. See dedifferentiate, undifferentiated.

Lacking a distinct border, not localized, spread out. Opposite of circumscribed. Widely spread; not localized or confined. Example: Cancer treatment depends on whether the tumor is diffuse (spread throughout the brain) or focal (in one area of the brain).

Double vision. Diplopia is a vision disorder in which two images of a single object are seen, caused from unequal action of the eye muscles.

Medications with predominant effects on pituitary cells that harbor receptors for the chemical transmitter dopamine. Examples include Bromocriptine and Cabergoline.

An application of diagnostic ultrasound used to detect moving blood cells or other moving structures and measure their direction and speed of movement. The Doppler effect is used to evaluate movement by measuring changes in frequency of the echoes reflected from...