Definition

A type of cancerous growth in the brain that usually occurs in children, specifically in the part of the brain that controls balance and coordination.

Example

The doctor diagnosed the child with medulloblastoma after reviewing the MRI results.

Conversation

I heard that a friend of mine was diagnosed with medulloblastoma last week.

Oh no, that's really tough news to hear.

Yeah, I can't imagine what they're going through right now.

It's so important to be supportive during times like this.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Medulloblastoma is formed from "medulla" (from Latin, meaning marrow or the innermost part) and "blastoma" (from Greek "blastos", meaning germ or sprout, and "oma", meaning tumor). The word refers to a tumor originating from the embryonic cells in the cerebellum, which is the innermost part of the brain responsible for coordination.

Memory Tip

Think of 'medulla' as the innermost part of something, like the brain, and 'blastoma' as a tumor from germ cells. This helps you remember that medulloblastoma is a tumor in the innermost part of the brain.

Visually Confused Words