H - N
HAMSTRINGS - The large muscles at the back of the thigh.
HANDICAP - An environmental or attitudinal barrier facing a person with a disability.
HEEL CORD - The Achilles tendon below the calf muscle.
HERNIATE - A protrusion of a loop of tissue through an abnormal opening.
HIP ADDUCTORS - The muscles on the inside of the thigh that move the leg sideways toward the midline.
HYDROCEPHALUS - The increased accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the ventricles of the brain, resulting from interference with normal circulation and absorption of the fluid.
HYDROMYELIA - The increase of fluid in the central canal of the spinal cord.
HYDRONEPHROSIS - Excessive cerebrospinal fluid in and around the brain.
HYPERTONIA - A neurological condition of low tone, that is, floppiness.
I.E.P. - Individual education plan (school age).
ILEAL CONDUIT - Surgical procedure to drain the kidneys through an opening on the abdomen, thus bypassing the bladder.
I.P.P. - Individual planning program (preschool age).
IMPACTION - An accumulation of feces in the rectum causing severe constipation.
INCONTINENCE - The inability to control urine or bowel movements.
INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE - A build up of pressure within the skull cavity.
INVERSION - Movement of the foot in which the sole turns toward the midline.
I.V. (Intravenous) - Used to inject fluid into a vein. An I.V. may be used to provide nutrition or may be a means of injecting medicine into the blood stream.
I.V.P. (Intravenous pyelogram) - A test that takes an x-ray of the kidneys. The person is given an injection c -dye through the I.V. which "I lights up" the kidneys on the x-ray.
KYPHOSIS - An exaggerated outward curvature of the spine.
LEARNING DISABILITY - A specific difference in learning that leads to underachievement in school.
LIPOMA - Swelling made of fat; sometimes found with myelomeningocele.
LOCOMOTION - Moving by walking, crawling, or the like.
LORDOSIS - An exaggerated inward curvature of the spine.
LUMBAR VERTEBRAE - The five vertebrae in the low back area.
MACROCEPHALY - An abnormally large head size.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGERY (MRI) - A scan that uses magnetic energy to give
a clear black and white picture of the brain, cervical canal, and spine. It does not involve radiation.
MENINGES - Three layers of membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
MENINGITIS - Infection or inflammation of the meninges.
MENINGOCELE - A protrusion of the meninges out or an opening in the vertebral column. A meningocele contains only cerebrospinal fluid and no neural tissue.
MICRCOCEPHALY - An abnormally small head, usually accompanied by developmental delay.
MYELOMENINGOCELE - or "open spine" - A protrusion of the meninges, spinal cord and nerves out of an opening in the vertebral column. Skin or a thin membrane may cover this spinal cord defect. It is also known as spina bifida.
NEURAL PLACODE - Abnormal, splayed-open nerve tissue at the site of the neural tube defect.
NEURAL TUBE DEFECT - A birth defect somewhere in the neural tube, which consists of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system.
NEUROGENIC BLADDER - Loss of nerve supply to the bladder resulting in an inability to voluntarily control the bladder.
NEUROLOGICAL - Pertaining to the nervous system.
NEUROLOGIST - A physician who specializes in the physiologic functions of the brain and nervous system, la. this doctor may run tests if seizures are suspected.
NEUROSURGEON - N physician who specializes in surgery to the brain and nervous system. A neurosurgeon performs the initial closure surgery in the spina bifida and a placement of a ventricular shunt, if necessary.
N.P.O. - Nothing by mouth (literally nothing passed orally).