Cephalic disorder

Cephalic disorders (from the Greek word κεφάλη, meaning "head") are congenital conditions that stem from damage to, or abnormal development of, the budding nervous system. Cephalic is a term that means "head" or "head end of the body." Cephalic disorders are not necessarily caused by a single factor, but may be influenced by hereditary or genetic conditions, nutritional deficiencies, or by environmental exposures during pregnancy, such as medication taken by the mother, maternal infection, or exposure to radiation (such disorders are more common in areas of the former Soviet Union affected by nuclear waste disposal problems, such as the area around the Mayak plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia.) Some cephalic disorders occur when the cranial...