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The following Clinical Topic Tour provides an overview of meningitis and was adapted from materials published by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Meningitis is a serious inflammation of the meninges, the membranes (lining) that surround the brain and spinal cord. It can be of bacterial, viral, or fungal origin.
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Meningitis is swelling and irritation (inflammation) of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. This inflammation causes changes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. See also: Aseptic meningitis; Men...
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Meningitis is the most common serious manifestation of infection of the central nervous system (CNS). Inflammatory involvement of the subarachnoid space with meningeal irritation leads to the classic triad of headache, fever and meningism, and to a pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
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An inflammation of the meninges, most often caused by infection. Meningitis is a potentially fatal inflammation of the meninges, membranes which encase the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is most commonly caused by an infection of bacteria, viru...
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Bacterial meningitis Epidemiology and microbiology: the overall annual incidence of bacterial meningitis is about 2?3/100,000, with peaks of incidence in infants and adolescents. Integration of vaccines into the UK vaccination programme against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and more recently against group C meningococccus has led to a marked decline in cases of Hib and Group C meningococcal meningitis and has significantly reduced the overall incidence of bacterial meningitis.
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Meningitis is a potentially fatal inflammation of the meninges, the thin, membranous covering of the brain and the spinal cord. Meningitis is most commonly caused by infection (by bacteria, viruses, or fungi), although it can also be caused by ble...
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Meningitis is a potentially fatal inflammation of the meninges, the thin, membranous covering of the brain and the spinal cord. Meningitis is most commonly caused by infection by bacteria, viruses, or fungi, although it can also be caused by bleed...
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Meningitis is a potentially fatal inflammation of the meninges, the thin, membranous covering of the brain and the spinal cord . Meningitis is most commonly caused by infection ( bacteria , viruses , or fungi ), although it can also be caused by b...
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Encephalitis is an acute inflammatory process that affects brain tissue and is almost always accompanied by inflammation of the adjacent meninges (tissues lining the brain). There are many types of encephalitis, most of which are caused by viral i...
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Although the word meningitis suggests an inflammation of the meninges only, there is always some involvement of the most superficial parts of the brain that are contiguous to the meninges. Often there are also alterations in the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
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Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, usually caused by a direct viral infection or a hypersensitivity reaction to a virus or foreign protein. Brain inflammation caused by a bacterial infection is sometimes called cerebritis. When both the...
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Encephalitis is irritation and swelling (inflammation) of the brain, usually due to infections. See also: Meningitis
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An inflammatory disease of the brain caused by a virus that either has invaded the brain, or a virus appearing elsewhere in the body that has caused a sensitivity reaction in the brain. Encephalitis infects the brain tissue itself and has serious ...
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Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, usually caused by a direct viral infection or a hypersensitivity reaction to a virus or foreign protein. Brain inflammation caused by a bacterial infection is sometimes called cerebritis. When both the...
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A premature infant is a baby born before 37 weeks gestation.
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The average length of a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks (280 days) from the date of conception. Infants born before 37 weeks gestation are considered premature and may be at risk for complications.
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The length of a normal pregnancy or gestation is considered to be 40 weeks (280 days) from the date of conception. Infants born before 37 weeks gestation are considered premature and may be at risk for complications.
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A premature infant is defined as one born before 37 weeks of gestation ( pregnancy ) without regard to birth weight. The length of a full-term pregnancy ranges from 37 to 42 weeks, measuring from the first day of the last menstrual period. "Preter...
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Herpes is an infection caused by a herpes simplex virus 1 or 2, and it primarily affects the mouth or genital area.
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Herpes zoster, also called shingles, and referred to as "zosteer", gets its name from both the Latin and French words for belt or girdle and refers to belt-like skin eruptions that may occur on the trunk of the body. The virus Shingles, or herpes ...
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Herpes simplex is a viral infection that mainly affects the mouth or genital area.
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Herpes simples virus (HSV, or herpesvirus) is a virus that causes infection of skin and mucous membrane and rarely infects other parts of the body. However, in the immunosuppressed patient, HSV may cause pneumonia and other more severe infections....
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Virus that causes blister-like open sores, usually on the mouth or genitals of the infected person. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) exists in two known forms. HSV type 1 causes sores to erupt near the mouth; HSV type two causes sores to erupt on the ge...
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Laboratory procedure in which an egg is fertilized by sperm in a specimen dish outside the woman's body. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a medical procedure that combines a human egg (ovum) and sperm in a laboratory dish to increase the possibilit...
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In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the joining of a woman's egg and a man's sperm in a laboratory dish. In vitro means "outside the body." Fertilization means the sperm has attached to and entered the egg. See also: Infertility; Infertility resources.
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In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a procedure in which eggs (ova) from a woman's ovary are removed. They are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory procedure, and then the fertilized egg (embryo) is returned to the woman's uterus.
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In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a procedure in which eggs (ova) from a woman's ovary are removed, they are fertilized with sperm in a laboratory procedure, and then the fertilized egg (embryo) is returned to the woman's uterus.
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A subdural hematoma is a collection of blood on the surface of the brain.
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A subdural hematoma is a collection of blood in the space between the outer and middle layers of the covering of the brain. It is most often caused by torn, bleeding veins as a result of a head trauma.
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A subdural hematoma is a collection of blood in the space between the outer layer (dura) and middle layers of the covering of the brain (the meninges). It is most often caused by torn, bleeding veins on the inside of the dura as a result of a blow...
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A subdural hematoma is a pooling of blood between the dura, which is a leathery membrane just under the skull, and the brain itself. Subdural hematomas usually occur following a head trauma that breaks the blood vessels that surround the brain. Th...
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Adolescent pregnancy is pregnancy in girls age 19 or younger.
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In the United States, 900,000 adolescents (fifteen-to nineteen-year-olds) became pregnant in 1996. While this was 15 percent lower than in 1994, it is still higher than any other developed country. There are twice as many teenage pregnancies in th...
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Asphyxia neonatorum is respiratory failure in the newborn, a condition caused by the inadequate intake of oxygen before, during, or just after birth.
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The failure of an infant to breathe at birth. Babies who are born asphyxiated do not breathe or cry when they are delivered. In mild cases of asphyxia the infant's color is bluish and the limbs may feel stiff. In more severe cases, the skin is gra...
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