A disease or condition affecting the brain, characterized by inflammation or degeneration of brain tissue.
From Greek enkephalos (brain) + -osis (condition or disease). The term combines the prefix for 'within the head' with a medical suffix indicating an abnormal state or pathological process.
This word reveals how Greek medical terminology became the foundation for modern brain medicine—most conditions doctors discuss today use these same ancient Greek roots, showing that 2,400 years ago, the Greeks were sophisticated enough to develop a system for naming diseases that we still use.
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