meningoencephalocele
- noun
- /məˌnɪŋɡoʊˌɛnˈsɛfəloʊˌsiːl/
- Specialized
- A meningoencephalocele occurs when brain tissue pushes through an opening in the skull at birth.
Examples
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Doctors discovered that the infant had a meningoencephalocele that required immediate surgical attention.
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Parents were informed that their baby was diagnosed with a meningoencephalocele, a condition that needed careful management.
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A meningoencephalocele is a gap in the skull that results in a herniation of the adjacent meningeal and brain substances.
Academic text (2004) -
Abiko et al. further distinguished two types of transsphenoidal meningoencephalocele: intrasphenoidal and true transsphenoidal.
Academic text (2004) -
As is the case with any meningoencephalocele, our diagnosis was based on the identification of a sac that was directly contiguous with the subarachnoid space and that contained a component of herniated cerebrum.
Academic text (2004) -
We conclude that to plan the safest possible repair, preoperative evaluation of intrasphenoidal meningoencephalocele by MRI is essential to confirming the extension of the lesion and any associated abnormalities.
Academic text (2004)
Synonyms
1
9.9
A condition present at birth in which part of the brain sticks out through a hole in the skull
Surface Forms
Morphology
meningoencephalocele = encephalocele (opaque) = meningo + encephalo + cele
Although built from Greek medical combining forms ('meningo-' + 'encephalo-' + '-cele'), these are specialist forms unlikely to be understood by a general B1 learner.
Etymology
The word meningoencephalocele breaks into three parts: meningo- meaning 'covering', the thin layers around the brain, encephalo- meaning 'brain', and -cele meaning 'pouch' or 'swelling'. That's why the word refers to a birth defect where brain tissue and its covering stick out through an opening in the skull.