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accessible Refers to tumors that can be approached by a surgical procedure; tumors that are not deep in the brain or beneath vital structures. Inaccessible tumors cannot be approached by standard surgical techniques. acuity Refers to clarity or distinctness of hearing or sight. adjuvant A therapy used in addition to or accompanying another treatment agnosia Loss of ability to recognize objects, people, sounds, shapes, or smells. Usually classified according to the sense or senses affected (hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch). Symptom common to tumors of the parietal lobe of the cerebral hemispheres. agraphia Loss of ability to write (a form of aphasia). Symptom common to tumors of the parietal lobe of the dominant cerebral hemisphere. alopecia Loss of hair; baldness in areas where hair is usually present. A common side effect of radiation therapy to the brain and some chemical therapies. analgesic A medicine used to reduce pain. anaplasia Characteristics of a cell (structure and orientation) that make it identifiable as a cancer cell. Malignant. angiogenesis The growth of new blood vessels from surrounding tissue into growing tissue. angiogram A diagnostic procedure done in the x-ray department to visualize blood vessels following introduction of contrast material into an artery. anorexia Loss of appetite. anosmia Absence of the sense of smell. Symptom common to tumors of the frontal lobe of the cerebral hemispheres. aphasia Loss of the ability to speak or write, loss of ability to understand speech or written words. articulation Speech artifact Something artificial, a distortion that does not reflect normal anatomy of pathology, not usually found in the body. For example, in radiology, the appearance on an x-ray of a surgical metal clip that obscures the clear view of an anatomical structure. ataxic gait Walking that is clumsy, uncoordinated. autologous Coming from the same individual, as opposed to being donated by another individual axial Position as it relates to the CNS. Intra-axial is within the CNS; extra-axial is outside the CNS. |