Brain Injury Terms and Definitions

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.

NCEH
National Center for Environmental Health

Ear Birth Defect
Anotia/microtia

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

brain
The part of the central nervous system inside the skull. Its functions include muscle control and coordination, sensory reception and integration, speech production, memory storage and the elaboration of thought and emotion.

NBDPS
National Birth Defects Prevention Study

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

Eye Birth Defect
Anophthalmia/microphthalmia, congenital cataracts, glaucoma

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

brain plasticity
Theories based on the idea that the brain may have the ability to use surviving brain cells in a different way to make up for those brain cells that are damaged.