Glossary

Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory.  A validated testing tool used to evaluate functional abilities and performance in children ages 6 months to 7 years.  It has also been used in children older than seven years of age whose disabilities cause them to function below that expected for a normal seven-year-old child.

The Pediatric NIH (National Institute of Health) Stroke Scale.

Positron Emission Tomography-an imaging technique that detects gamma rays emitted from a tracer radionucleotide tagged to a biologically active molecule that has been introduced into the body. A three-dimensional image or picture showing a functional process within the organ being imaged results..

Patent Foramen Ovale. A hole in the wall between the right and left upper chambers of the heart that has failed to close by the time of birth.  This results in blood flowing in an abnormal pattern from the left side of the heart to the right.

Progression Free Survival – refers to the length of time after the initiation of treatment (surgery) that the disease being treated shows no signs (clinical or radiographic) of growing or worsening.

A syndrome that is rare and involves multiple organ systems.  PHACE is an acronym standing for pathological findings or involved organ systems: P = Posterior fossa brain abnormalities; H = Hemangiomas of the face or scalp (large); A = cervical or cerebral Artery abnormalities; C = Cardiac anomalies and Coarctation of the aorta; and E = Eye abnormalities.  S can be included in the acronym (PHACES) in which case it stands for Sternal anomalies.

A syndrome that is rare and involves multiple organ systems.  PHACE is an acronym standing for pathological findings or involved organ systems: P = Posterior fossa brain abnormalities; H = Hemangiomas of the face or scalp (large); A = cervical or cerebral Artery abnormalities; C = Cardiac anomalies and Coarctation of the aorta; and E = Eye abnormalities.  S can be included in the acronym (PHACES) in which case it stands for Sternal anomalies.

A phenotype is an organism’s observable characteristics or traits. These can include the organism’s appearance, how it develops, how it behaves and how its organ systems work. The phenotype is the product of an organism’s genes’s (the so-called genotype), the organism’s environment and the interaction between the two.

Post hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus that results from bleeding within the brain as the blood and its degradation by products adversely effect the normal circulation of cerebrospinal fluid with the result being a progressive enlargement of the CSF spaces.

Peak Height Velocity – this is defined as the period of maximum growth rate during adolescents.