Glossary

From term sinciput – latin half head. Used to refer to upper half of cranium, commonly the anterior portion of including the forehead.

Small interfering RNA – AKA short interfering or silencing RNA. It is a double stranded RNA that participates in the RNAi pathway to regulate gene expression.

Slip ring technology. In a CT scanner the X ray detector is rotating rapidly, the technological challenge is to permit continuous transmission of this data to the static data recording software. This tranmission is achived through “slip rings”, sliding electrical contacts between the detector and the image processing unit.

Sterno-Occipital-Mandibular-Immobilizer.  A brace used to maintain the head, neck and trunk in a proscribed alignment.

SOMI Brace – Sternal-Occipital-Mandibular-Immobilizer, a brace for the cervical thoracic spine. It provides greatest immobilization for the mid and lower cervical spine. It immobilizes the upper cervical spine to a lesser degree.

sp. = species, as in Staphylococcus species.

Single photon emission computed tomography – An imaging technique that measures gamma rays emitted after the injection of a gamma-emitting radioisotope. Typically this isotope is attached to a substance that is taken up by a tissue of interest and the intensity of gamma emission reflects the degree of uptake (metabolic activity) of that tissue. The concentration of emitted rays is recorded three dimensionally allowing for the production of a three dimensional image of the tissue that resembles a CT scan.

Supratentorial primative neuroectodermal tumor

Supratentorial primative neuroectodermal tumors

Stereotactic Radiosurgery – A form of radiation where multiple radiation beams are p assed along corridors to intersect at a target. The summation dose of the multiple beams at the point of their intersection is typically necrosing to the tissue within this “target” zone. The stereotactic or stereotaxis referes to using the 3-D coordinate grid defined by the imaging computer (MRI or CT) to calculate the corridor pathway and what tissue it passes through and to define the geometry of the target zone.