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Glossary

A

Achilles tendon: A large band of strong, fibrous tissue in the back of the lower leg that connects the muscles of the calf to the heel bone.
Antibiotics: Medicines that fight infections caused by bacteria.
Arthritis: An ongoing (chronic) disease that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints.
Arthrogryposis: A problem with muscles that causes them to contract so that they are rigid.

B

Biopsy: A process that helps surgeons and other doctors diagnose a patient’s condition. For example, to find out if a tumor is cancerous or not, they remove a small piece of tissue. A pathologist looks at it under a microscope. The pathologist determines the type of cells present and makes a diagnosis.
Bone graft: Part of an operation in which doctors implant a section of bone — taken from the patient or coming from a donor (allograft) — to help repair or replace inadequate existing bone.
Bone marrow: The soft tissue in the center of long bones, such as leg bones, that produces red blood cells and many white blood cells.
Bone matrix: The main structural material of bone, made up of collagen fibers and other substances.
Bone scan: An imaging test used to detect an area or areas of increased activity in bones. Bone scans can help identify fractures, tumors and other bone diseases. Doctors inject a small amount of a radioactive substance into a patient's vein, and then take images that are projected onto a computer screen or an X-ray film.
Brainstem: The structure connecting the spinal cord with other parts of the brain. It plays an important role in the body and helps your child be conscious (aware), breathe and regulate her body temperature. All information moving between the body and the brain passes through the brainstem.

C

Cartilage: A type of connective tissue that is found in joints, such as the hips, knees, shoulders and elbows. Cartilage helps the bones move and glide smoothly.
Cerebral palsy: A term for a group of brain injuries that can occur while a fetus is in the womb, at birth or shortly after a baby is born.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT): An inherited (genetic) disease that causes the nerves that control the muscles of the legs, feet, arms and hands to deteriorate over time.
Chemotherapy: A cancer treatment that uses medicine to stop the growth of cancer. It kills the cancer cells or stops them from multiplying. Chemotherapy may be used:1) To shrink a tumor; 2) After surgery to kill remaining cancer cells and prevent the cancer from coming back; 3) As your child’s main cancer treatment with or without radiation.
Chromosomes: The 23 paired structures in the central part of cells. They are made up of protein and also deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which contains genetic information.
Computerized Tomography (CT) scan: An X-ray that produces cross-sectional pictures of the body. These allow doctors to see the inside of your child’s body and diagnose and understand his illness or injury.
Cyst: An abnormal, closed sac containing fluid, semi-fluid or solid material. A cyst can happen anywhere in the body including within the brain and on the spinal cord. Doctors often check cysts to make sure they are not cancerous. If a cyst causes symptoms, it may need treatment.

D

Developmental delay: A term that describes how fast your child is developing compared to others of similar age. A developmental delay means that your child is developing more slowly.

E

Electromyogram and nerve conduction velocity (EMG/NCV) studies: Tests used to diagnose nerve and muscle problems. The tests measure how well nerves conduct the electrical impulses that control the muscles, and also help doctors assess nerve damage.
Ewing sarcoma: One of the most common primary bone cancers in children and teenagers. Tumors usually appear in the long bones of the arms and legs.

F

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGR3): The family of genes called fibroblast growth factors are important to development of human embryos. They are responsible, for example, for production of blood vessels and the growth of limbs. A change, or mutation, in the gene called fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 causes achondroplasia, the most common type of short-limbed dwarfism.

G

Growth arrest: A serious problem that occurs when the growth plates of a child's bone are injured, often by fractures. Growth arrest means the bone stops developing, which can permanently change how the bone appears or functions.
Growth plates: Patches of growing tissue near the end of the long bones in children and young teenagers. Growth plates determine how long children's bones will be once they are mature.

H

Hormones: Chemicals produced by the body. They are carried throughout the body in body fluids. Hormones help control many functions such as metabolism, blood sugar, menstruation and sexual characteristics.

I

Intravenous (IV): IV is an abbreviation for intravenous, which means into a vein. When doctors talk about IVs, they often mean IV lines or needles that deliver medicines, fluids and nutrients directly to a child's bloodstream.

J

Joints: Where two bones come together, such as the shoulder, elbow, knee and hip. Joints aid movement.

L

Ligaments: Strong, flexible bands of tissue that hold joints together by connecting one bone to another.
Lymph nodes: Part of your body's immune system. Lymph nodes are bean-like structures spread throughout the body that filter fluid and serve as centers where the body fights disease.

M

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A process that creates high-quality pictures of the inside of the body. An MRI uses a large magnet to create these pictures.
Minimally invasive procedure: An operation that requires a smaller incision or incisions than traditional surgery.
Muscular dystrophy (MD): A group of inherited disorders of the muscles that can cause them to become very weak.
Myelomeningocele: An inherited problem in which part of the spinal cord sticks through a gap in the bones of the back. Myelomeningocele is the most serious form of spina bifida and causes problems with the central nervous system.

N

Nervous system: There are two main divisions of the nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and spinal cord and is the main control network for our bodies. The CNS is the system through which we think, feel and sense the world. The peripheral nervous system is made up of the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord that carry information to and from the brain.
Neurological: Refers to the nervous system. Neurology is the branch of medicine dealing with the nervous system and its disorders that are treated medically. Neurosurgery involves neurological disorders that are treated with surgery.
Neurologists: Doctors who specialize in conditions that affect the nerves, spinal cord and brain (nervous system).
Neuromuscular: This term refers to the nerves and muscles. Doctors often use the term to refer to the way nerves stimulate the muscles to move.
Neurosurgery: Refers to operations that involve the nerves, spinal cord or brain.

O

Osteosarcoma: One of the most common forms of primary bone cancer in teenagers. Tumors usually occur around the knee.
Otolaryngology: A medical specialty that focuses on the ears, nose and throat.

P

PET scan: Stands for Positron Emission Tomography. A PET scan is a test that produces three-dimensional images that can help doctors tell cancerous tumors from other tissues and see how well treatment against tumors is working.
Pelvis: The lower part of the trunk of the body, which joins the legs to the trunk. The pelvic bone is a ring of bones that supports the spine, and includes the hip sockets, sacrum and coccyx.
Polio: An infectious disease caused by a virus. It usually affects young children. It attacks the central nervous system and can cause muscle weakness and paralysis.
Prosthesis: A device that replaces part of the body, such as an artificial limb.

R

Radiographs: Two-dimensional X-ray images. They are especially good for studying bony tissue, such as the skull and teeth. They are often used in diagnosing fractures and are used to keep track of chronic orthopedic problems.
Rheumatology: A medical specialty that deals with diseases of the muscles and joints, including arthritis.

S

Skeletal muscle: Muscle that attaches to the bones of the skeleton. These muscles move the skeleton.
Soft tissue: All the tissue in the body except bones. This includes ligaments, tendons, muscles, blood, skin and fat.
Spina bifida: A neural tube defect that happens in the first month of pregnancy. Normally, the neural tube in a fetus develops into its brain and spinal cord. With spinal bifida, the arches of the vertebrae do not grow and close around the spinal cord as they should. This leaves the spinal cord open and unprotected. Often, the meninges and spinal cord protrude out from the child's spine. Myelomeningocele is the most severe form of spina bifida.
Spinal column: Also called the spine or vertebral column. It includes 33 bones separated by disks and held together by ligaments. The spinal column supports your child's head and encloses and protects her spinal canal and spinal cord.
Spinal cord: A long column of nerves that runs through the backbone. It connects the brain with the nerves in the rest of the body so they can communicate.
Spinal muscular atrophy: An inherited problem that affects the nerves controlling the muscles that people normally move voluntarily.

T

Tendons: Very strong bands of tissue that connect muscle to bone.
Thoracoscopy: A procedure that allows surgeons to insert a thin tube called an endoscope inside the chest to examine the lungs and other parts of the chest cavity. Surgeons can also perform procedures, such as taking tissue samples, using thoracoscopy.
Tumors: Growths of tissue that form an abnormal mass. They have no useful function and can crowd healthy tissue. Benign tumors are not cancerous. They grow slowly and do not usually spread. But in the brain, they can squeeze together brain tissue and cause disability and sometimes death. A malignant tumor grows fairly fast, spreads and usually contains cancer cells.

U

Ultrasound: An imaging technique that uses sound waves to detect structures within the body. A machine translates the findings of the sound waves into a picture. It is commonly used to take images of a fetus in the womb.