Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Characterized by partial or total absence of a brain: This medical term describes a severe congenital condition where a fetus or infant is born with a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp missing.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The ultrasound revealed an anencephalic fetus.
  • Anencephalic infants are not viable in the long term.
  • The condition is diagnosed as anencephalic.

Advanced Usage

• Medical/Ethical Context: The term is almost exclusively used in clinical, pathological, and bioethical discussions concerning severe birth defects and organ donation.
  • The bioethics committee debated the care standards for anencephalic newborns.

Variants and Related Words

• Anencephaly (n): The name of the congenital disorder itself.
  • Anencephaly is a neural tube defect.

Synonyms

• Merencephalic: A less common synonym with the same meaning.

Adjective

1. characterized by partial or total absence of a brain