n.
A usually congenital condition in which an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain, destroying much of the neural tissue.
[New Latin, from Greek hudrokephalon : hudro-, hydro- + kephalē, head.]
hydrocephalic hy'dro·ce·phal'ic (-sə-făl'ĭk) or hy'dro·ceph'a·loid' (-loid') or hy'dro·ceph'a·lous (-ləs) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
