Meaning & use
intracranial
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a nounmedicaltechnical
Situated inside or happening inside the skull.
Grammar: Used before a noun: intracranial pressure, intracranial bleeding. Do not use it after a linking verb in everyday speech.
Patterns
- intracranial pressure
- intracranial bleeding
- intracranial injury
The doctor ordered a scan to check for intracranial bleeding after the fall.
High intracranial pressure can damage the brain if it is not treated quickly.
The surgeon carefully monitored intracranial blood flow during the operation.
Common combinations
- intracranial pressure
- The nurse recorded the patient's intracranial pressure every hour.
- intracranial hemorrhage
- An intracranial hemorrhage was visible on the CT scan.
- intracranial injury
- Cyclists who wear helmets have fewer intracranial injuries.
- intracranial surgery
- Intracranial surgery requires a highly specialized team.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- intracranially adverb
- In a way that is inside the skull.
Commonly confused: intracranial or intracerebral? intracranial or extracranial?
intracranial vs intracerebral
Intracerebral means inside the brain tissue itself, while intracranial means inside the skull, which also contains blood vessels and fluid.
intracranial vs extracranial
This is the opposite: outside the skull. Do not mix them up in medical writing.
Practice
The scan showed no signs of ___ bleeding after the accident.
Choose one answer.
Intracranial means inside the skull, which fits bleeding in the head. Intradermal and intramuscular refer to the skin and muscle, and intracutaneous means within the skin, so they do not fit a head injury.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intracranial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.