microcephaly

/ ˌmaɪkrəʊsɪˈfælɪk, ˌmaɪkrəʊˈsɛfəlɪ /

noun

1. the condition of having an abnormally small head or cranial capacity Compare megacephaly

Other Word Forms

• microcephalous adjective
• microcephalic adjective

Example Sentences

Tamara had microcephaly - an abnormally small head - one of many conditions resulting from her mother being infected with the Zika virus while pregnant.

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Known as Oropouche virus, it can trigger a fever that may cause pregnant people to miscarry or their babies to have birth defects known as microcephaly, or smaller than usual heads.

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That’s because an infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly, which is when a baby's head is much smaller than expected, and other congenital malformations like limb contractures, high muscle tone, eye abnormalities, and hearing loss.

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The team's finding suggests that maintaining the neuronal NMD function is essential for early brain development to prevent microcephaly.

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"In many cases, animal models simply do not recapitulate either the characteristics or the degree of severity seen in human brain diseases such as microcephaly," Song said.

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