Adult Brain Tumor : Tests

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A doctor can often identify signs and symptoms that are specific to the location of the tumor. Some tumors may not show symptoms until they are very large and cause a rapid decline in the person's mental functions. Other tumors have symptoms that ...
Source:ADAM
Date:October 31, 2006
Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) is a protein normally produced by the liver and yolk sac of a fetus. AFP levels decrease soon after birth. AFP probably has no normal function in adults. A test can be done to measure the amount of AFP in your blood.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 15, 2007
The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test is a blood test that is performed during pregnancy . This screening test measures the level of AFP in the mother ' s blood and indicates the probability that the fetus has one of several serious birth defects .
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test is a blood test that is performed during pregnancy to screen the fetus for certain conditions; it is also used to screen for certain diseases in infants and children. The screening test measures the level of AFP in the mother ' s blood and indicates the probability that the fetus has one of several serious birth defects.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Prenatal test that tests for birth defects. The Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP) Test is a commonly used prenatal test to monitor the level of AFP- a possible indicator of developmental abnormalities- in the liver of a fetus during high-risk pregnancies.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Detailed information on alpha-fetoprotein testing
Source:StayWell
It can show whether your fetus has signs of some birth defects. This test is done between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy.
Source:StayWell
A CSF cell count is a test to measure the number of red and white blood cells that are in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF. CSF is a clear fluid that circulates in the space surrounding the spinal cord and brain.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 30, 2007
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is a set of laboratory tests that examine a sample of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord . This fluid is an ultrafiltrate of plasma.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
A cranial CT scan is computed tomography of the head, including the skull, brain, orbits (eye sockets), and sinuses.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 25, 2006
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test to detect problems in the electrical activity of the brain.
Source:ADAM
Date:September 25, 2006
Electroencephalography (EEG)Electroencephalography(EEG)is a test that measures your brain wave activity. It is used to assess your brain function.What Is EEG Used For?
Source:StayWell
Having an Electroencephalography (EEG)TipsTry to relax and remain still.Avoid talking during the test.You will sit in a reclining chair or lie down on an exam table in a softly lighted room. The technologist will measure certain points on your head.
Source:StayWell
Detailed information on electroencephalogram (EEG), including steps that should be taken to prepare your child for the EEG
Source:StayWell
An electroencephalogram (EEG), also called a brain wave test, is a diagnostic test which measures the electrical activity of the brain (brain waves) using highly sensitive recording equipment attached to the scalp by fine electrodes. Purpose EEG is performed to detect abnormalities in the electrical activity of the brain which may help diagnose the presence and type of various brain disorders, to look for causes of confusion, and to evaluate head injuries, tumors, infections, degenerative diseases, and other disturbances that affect the brain.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Electroencephalography, or EEG, is a neurological test that uses an electronic monitoring device to measure and record electrical activity in the brain. Purpose The EEG is a key tool in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy and other seizure disorders.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a neurological diagnostic procedure that records the changes in electrical potentials ( brain waves) in various parts of the brain. Purpose The EEG is an important aid in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy and other seizure disorders, as well as in the diagnosis of brain damage related to trauma and diseases such as strokes, tumors, encephalitis, and drug and alcohol intoxication.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Electroencephalography, or EEG, is a neurological test that involves attaching electrodes to the head of a person to measure and record electrical activity in the brain over time. Purpose The EEG, also known as a brain wave test, is a key tool in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy and other seizure disorders.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Electroencephalography, or EEG, is a neurological test that involves attaching electrodes to the head of a patient to measure and record electrical activity in the brain over time. Purpose The EEG, also known as a brain wave test, is a key tool in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy and other seizure disorders.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
The electroencephalography (EEG) unit is used to record the electrical output of the brain to produce a record called an electroencephalogram. Purpose Measurements taken by an electroencephalography unit are used to diagnose and classify disorders of the brain including seizures, encephalopathy, encephalitis, some psychiatric diseases, and brain death.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Electroencephalography, or EEG, is a neurological test that involves attaching electrodes to the head of a person to measure and record electrical activity in the brain over time. Purpose The EEG, also known as a brain wave test, is a key tool in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy and other seizure disorders.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Surgery
An angiography is an x-ray of the arteries. The arteries are not normally seen in an x-ray, so a special material, called contrast dye, is injected into one or more arteries to make them visible. For a cerebral angiography, the contrast dye is injected into one or both of the carotid arteries in the neck.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 25, 2006
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the newest diagnostic medical imaging technologies that uses strong magnets and pulses of radio waves to manipulate the natural magnetic properties in the body to generate a visible image. In the field of mental health, an MRI scan may be used when a patient seeks medical help for symptoms that could possibly be caused by a brain tumor.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA)Magnetic resonance angiographyuses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to create images of blood vessels throughout the body. It combines the use of strong magnets and radio waves to form an image that can be viewe...
Source:StayWell
Angiography is the x-ray study of the blood vessels. An angiogram uses a radiopaque substance, or dye, to make the blood vessels visible under x ray.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a unique and versatile medical imaging modality. Doctors can obtain highly refined images of the body ' s interior using MRI.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Cerebral circulation, the supply of blood to the brain Understanding how the brain is supplied with blood is important because a significant number of neurological disorders that result in hospital admissions are due to problems with cerebral vascular disease. In some hospitals, nearly half the admissions due to neurologic disorders relate in some form to problems with cerebral circulation.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
During a physical examination, a health care provider studies a patient's body to determine the presence or absence of physical problems. A typical physical examination includes: Inspection (looking at the body; Palpation (feeling the body with hands; Auscultation (listening to sounds; Percussion (producing sounds.
Source:ADAM
Date:January 22, 2007
An MRI of the head is a noninvasive procedure that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to construct clear, detailed pictures of brain tissues. Conventional radiography and computed tomographic (CT) imaging use potentially harmful radiation (x-rays) that passes through a patient to generate images. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is based on the magnetic properties of atoms, and there is no exposure to the same type of radiation used in x-rays and CT scans. A powerful magnet generates a magnetic field roughly 10,000 times stronger than the Earth's. A very small percentage of hydrogen atoms within the body will align with this field. Radio wave pulses are broadcast towards the aligned hydrogen atoms in tissues of interest, returning a signal of their own. The slight differences of those signals from different tissues enables MRI to tell the difference between various organs, and potentially, provide contrast between benign and malignant tissue. Any imaging angle, or "slice", can be projected, and then stored in a computer or printed on film. MRI can easily be performed through clothing and bones. However, certain types of metal in or around the area of interest can cause significant errors in the reconstructed images. These errors are called artifacts.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 25, 2006
Like all other parts of the body, the brain and central nervous system are made up of cells that ordinarily grow and divide to create new cells as needed. This is usually an orderly process; but when cells lose their ability to grow normally or to die off naturally, they divide too often and produce tumors that are made up of these extra cells.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Part of the central nervous system located in the skull. Controls mental and physical actions of the organism.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Congenital brain defects are a group of disorders of brain development that are present at birth. Brain development begins shortly after conception and continues throughout the growth of a fetus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Brain abscess is a bacterial infection within the brain. The brain is usually well insulated from infection by bacteria, protected by the skull, the meninges (tissue layers surrounding the brain), the immune system, and the highly regulated barrier between the bloodstream and the brain.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. Unlike other tumors, brain tumors spread by local extension and rarely metastasize (spread) outside the brain.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Congenital brain defects are a group of disorders of brain development. Brain development begins shortly after conception and continues throughout the growth of a fetus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
The brain is the part of the central nervous system located in the skull. It controls the mental processes and physical actions of a human being.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
The brain is a large mass of soft nervous tissue made up of both neurons and supporting glial cells lying within the cranium of the skull. The brain contains both gray and white matter.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners rely on the principles of atomic nuclear-spin resonance. Using strong magnetic fields and radio waves, MRI collects and correlates deflections caused by atoms into images.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the result of physical trauma to the head causing damage to the brain. This damage can be focal, or restricted to a single area of the brain, or diffuse, affecting more than one region of the brain.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
The brain is the part of the central nervous system (CNS) inside the skull (the part outside the skull is the spinal cord ). It gives rise to cognitive thought processes and controls various body functions including muscular activity, speech, sight, hearing , breathing, and digestion.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue, either malignant (cancerous) or benign (noncancerous), in the brain. Each year, more than 17,000 brain tumors are diagnosed in the United States.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
A neurological examination is an essential component of a comprehensive physical examination . It is a systematic examination that surveys the functioning of nerves delivering sensory information to the brain and caring motor commands (Peripheral nervous system) and impulses back to the brain for processing and coordinating (Central nervous system).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging test that uses a radioactive substance (called a tracer) to look for disease in the body. Unlike magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans, which reveal the structure of organs, a PET scan shows how the organs and tissues are functioning. See also: Bone scan; Lung scan; Nuclear ventriculography; Pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scan; Renal scan; Thyroid scan.
Source:ADAM
Date:July 17, 2007
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a noninvasive scanning technique that utilizes small amounts of radioactive positrons (positively charged particles) to visualize body function and metabolism. PET is the fastest growing nuclear medicine tool in terms of increasing acceptance and applications.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
PET Scan Use in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment MonitoringFinding cancer at its earliest stage can give the best chance of being able to cure it. Different tests are used to find cancers and to help find out if the cancer has spread.
Source:StayWell
Rather than showing the structure of a body part, PET images show the chemical function of an organ or tissue. PET can show changes in how an organ or tissue works. This can help your healthcare provider diagnose problems and develop a treatment plan for you.
Source:StayWell
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a scanning technique used in conjunction with small amounts of radiolabeled compounds to visualize brain anatomy and function. A PET scan showing brain activity while patient recognizes faces- left sides at left/right sides at right.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
A quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) test measures the specific level of HCG in the blood. HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy. See also: Qualitative HCG test
Source:ADAM
Date:November 8, 2006
An ACTH test measures ACTH, a hormone released from the anterior pituitary gland in the brain.
Source:ADAM
Date:March 18, 2008
The growth hormone test measures the amount of growth hormone in the blood.
Source:ADAM
Date:March 18, 2008
Growth hormone (hGH), or somatotropin, is a hormone responsible for normal body growth and development by stimulating protein production in muscle cells and energy release from the breakdown of fats. Tests for growth hormone include Somatotropin hormone test, Somatomedin C, Growth hormone suppression test (glucose loading test), and Growth hormone stimulation test (Arginine test or Insulin tolerance test).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Growth hormone tests measure the levels of specific hormones that regulate human growth. These hormone levels are measured in blood serum samples obtained by venipuncture.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Prolactin is a hormone released by the pituitary gland. The prolactin test measures the amount of prolactin in the blood.
Source:ADAM
Date:March 18, 2008
Prolactin is a hormone secreted by the anterior portion of the pituitary gland (sometimes called the " master gland " ). Its role in the male has not been demonstrated, but in females, prolactin promotes lactation , or milk production, after childbirth .
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
TSH is a laboratory test that measures the amount of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in your blood. TSH is produced by the pituitary gland and tells the thyroid gland to make and release the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3. See also: T3 test; T4 test.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 24, 2007
A brain biopsy is the removal of a small piece of brain tissue for the diagnosis of abnormalities of the brain, such as Alzheimer ' s disease , tumors, infection, or inflammation. Purpose By examining the tissue sample under a microscope, the biopsy sample provides doctors with the information necessary to guide diagnosis and treatment.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
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