Glossary

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.

The Spetzler Martin Grading Scale:  A scale developed to estimate the risk of surgically treating an arteriovenous Malformation within the brain.  It assigns a risk score based on the AVM’s size, location (eloquent vs non-eloquent adjacent brain) and pattern of venous drainage.  There has been a supplementary modification to the scale that is felt to better establish risk of surgically treating an AVM.

The Spetzler Martin Grading Scale:  A scale developed to estimate the risk of surgically treating an arteriovenous Malformation within the brain.  It assigns a risk score based on the AVM’s size, location (eloquent vs non-eloquent adjacent brain) and pattern of venous drainage.  There has been a supplementary modification to the scale that is felt to better establish risk of surgically treating an AVM.

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.

Somatosensory Evoked Potential

Surgical site infection