Children's Division Glossary "B"
Section 7 is the glossary and reference chapters. The terms in this glossary are legal, medical, psychological, and practice terms commonly used by Children’s Division (CD). However, some of the definitions may not reflect the meaning that the general public uses.
Select a letter from the row below or scroll down to browse the index. Then select a topic from the index list.
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BABY DOE: A child abuse or neglect report of medical neglect involving handicapped infants in a hospital or health care facility.
BABYSITTER: Care of a child away from his/her own parent for any part of 24 hour day, for compensation or otherwise. Babysitters are a voluntary supplement to parental responsibility for the child’s protection, development, and supervision.
BASILAR SKULL FRACTURE: A fracture to the base of the brain which will often connect with the nose area and the ear, the result of which spinal fluid can leak from the nose or the ear and there is danger of infection.
BATTERED CHILD SYNDROME: Term introduced in 1962 by C. Henry Kempe, M.D., in the Journal of the American Medical Association in an article describing a combination of physical and other signs indicating that a child’s internal and/or external injuries result from acts committed by a parent or caretaker. In some states, the battered child syndrome has been judicially recognized as an accepted medical diagnosis. Frequently, this term is misused or misunderstood as the only type of child abuse and neglect.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: A behavior training program where expectations/goals are structured and directed.
BIPOLAR DISORDER: A term applied to the disorder of people who have experienced alternating episodes of both mania and depression.
BONDING: The psychological attachment of parent to child which develops during and immediately following childbirth. Bonding, which appears to be crucial to the development of a healthy parent/child relationship, may be studied during and immediately following delivery to help identify potential families at risk. Bonding is normally a natural occurrence, but it may be disrupted by separation of mother and baby or by other situational or psychological factors.
BONE SCAN: A nuclear medicine study that can diagnose early or minimal fractures or infections in bones.
BONE STUDY: All the bones in the body are x-rayed in order to determine whether there are fractures in sites other than the one where there is obviously a problem. Healing fractures of different ages may imply abuse has occurred several times.
BRAIN STEM: Stem like portion of the brain connecting with the spinal cord.
BRUISE: (See Intradermal Hemorrhage)
BURN: Wound resulting from the application of too much heat. Burns are classified by the degree of damage caused.
1st degree - scorching or painful redness of the skin
2nd degree - formation or blisters
3rd degree - destruction of outer layers of the skin
Bath water can be hot enough to cause burns. Some people prefer bath water at a temperature of 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot water heaters may be set at 140 degrees Fahrenheit and this can cause a 2nd degree burn after 3 seconds of exposure. A temperature of 130 degrees can cause a 2nd degree burn after 30 seconds of exposure. Most “accidental” burns involving bath water are not symmetrical, show “splash marks”, are not in the genital area. In addition to hot water, accidental burns can be due to cigarettes, irons, radiators, etc.
BURDEN OF PROOF: The duty to establish a claim or allegation by admissible and credible evidence at the time of hearing.
BURNOUT: To exhaust oneself by too much work or dissipation.
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