Detection and Treatment Guide Updated 2017 Detection-and-Treatment-2017 | Page 24

GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Angiogram (also called arteriogram)
An X-ray study using an injected contrast dye to see the arteries and look
for an aneurysm.
Artery
A thick-walled blood vessel through which blood flows from the heart to
any organ of the body, including the brain.
Brain aneurysm
A weak, bulging area on the wall of an artery in the brain; also called an
intracranial or cerebral aneurysm.
Catheter
A flexible tube for insertion into a vessel, body cavity, or duct; used for an
angiogram of the brain arteries and in the endovascular treatment of brain
aneurysms to provide access to the aneurysm site.
Cerebral aneurysm
See brain aneurysm.
Clipping
The surgical method for treating an aneurysm. The surgeon exposes the
aneurysm with a craniotomy and places a metal clip across the base of the
aneurysm so that blood cannot enter it.
Coiling
An endovascular treatment for aneurysms. The aneurysm is filled with
a tiny platinum coil (or coils), causing the blood within it to clot and the
aneurysm to be destroyed.
Craniotomy
Any operation in which the skull is opened, including the surgical
procedure for clipping an aneurysm.
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