FACET ARTHROPATHY - a degenerative disease affecting the facet joint.

FACECTOMY - Excision of an articular facet of a vertebra.

FACET TROPISM - Asymmetrical orientation of the facets comparing right to left side.

FAILURE of SEGMENTATION - Failure of a portion or all of two or more adjoining vertebrae to separate into normal units.

FALX (CEREBRI) - An extension of dura between the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

FATIGUE - That state, following a period of mental or bodily activity; characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompained by a feeling of weariness, sleepiness, or irritability.

FATIGUE FRACTURE - A fracture that occurs in bone or in other materials. Including metal, as a result of repeated stress as opposed to a single injury.

FENESTRATION (of cyst) - Surgical creation of window-like opening.

FIBROSIS - The replacement of normal tissue with scar tissue.

FIBROMYOSITIS - Chronic inflammation of a muscle with an overgrowth, or hyperplasia, of the connective tissue.

FISSURE - A groove or natural division, deep furrow in the brain.

FLATTENING of NORMAL LUMBAR CURVE - Condition in which the hollow of the back becomes shallow or even stright.

FLEXION - The act of flexing or bending; bending of a joint so as to approximate the parts it connects.

FONTANELLE - Normal openings in he skull of infants; the largest of these is the anterior fontanel or "soft spot" in the middle of the head.

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) - The USA Federal government agency that has regulatory authority over the manufacture, distribution, and labeling of drugs, medical devices, and foods.

FONTANELLES - "Soft spots" of the infant's head, normal unossified areas in the infant skull.

FORAMEN - A natural opening or passage in bone. An opening allowing for the egress of spinal nerve roots from between two vertebrae.

FORAMINOTOMY - Surgical opening or enlargement of the bony opening traversed by a nerve root as it leaves the spinal canal. A procedure carried out alone or in conjunction with disc surgery.

FRACTURE - A disruption of the normal continuity of bone.

FRACTURE-DISLOCATION - Fracture of a bone that is also dislocated from its normal position in a joint.

FUNCTIONAL SCOLIOSIS - Any scoliosis that is caused by leg length or other functional disorder and not by a primary curvature of the spine.

FUNCTIONAL STEREOTACTIC NEUROSURGERY - Surgery intended to improve the function of the central nervous system. A stereotactic head frame is used along with imaging techniques to map the brain and localize the surgical target.

FUSIFORM ANEURYSM - A sausage-like enlargement of the vessel

FUSION - Union or healing of bone (see Arthrodesis).

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