9781422288160

C HAPTER 1

12

Words to Unders tand (Cont inued)

edema: Swelling in the brain, due to an accumulation of fluid in brain tissue. hematoma: Bleeding in or around the brain. epidural hematoma: Bleeding between the skull and dura mater. subdural hematoma: Bleeding beneath the dura mater, between it and other membranes.

int racerebral hematoma: Bleeding within the brain. penet rat ing-sk ull f racture: A skull fracture that penetrates brain tissue. comput ed tomography or CT scans (also CAT scans ): Tests like an X-ray that take cross-sectional images of the body that can detect bleeding, swelling, tumors, and other soft tissue injuries. magnet ic resonance imaging (MR I ): A medical test using mag- netic fields to show greater detail than X-rays or CT scans.

“It was funny,” Tommy cut in. Blindly loyal to Jerome, Tommy always took Jerome’s side no matter which side of right or wrong Jerome found himself on. “Did you see the look on Stevie’s face when he plowed into Coach?” “I guess. But, I don’t know,” Eric continued. Ignoring Tommy for a minute, he looked up at Jerome, took a deep breath, and ex- haled slowly. “It’s not like he can help being the way he is.” Then he glanced away. Eric played the conscience of their trio. It had always been that way. They each had a role to play and played it well. Jerome was a popular, do-no-wrong prankster, unquestioned leader, and athlete extraordinaire—everybody loved him and wanted to be like him. At Northeast High School, being Jerome’s friend meant that you’d arrived—a pretty impressive status consid-