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Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumors
a. Intracranial Tumors - are potentially fatal; skull is rigid and has little room for content expansion; untreated brains tumors cause death by:

- Local destruction and brain tissue compression
- Progressively increasing ICP, causing herniation and death

Primary Intracranial Tumors – classified as follows:
- Gliomas – composed of malignant glial cells arising from various supporting tissues in the brain
- Neuromas or Neurobromas – arise from nerve cells
- Meningiomas – arise from the menginges
- Blood vessels tumors – are called Hemangiomas
- Developemnt tumors – are usually cysts (e.g. dermoid cysts)
- Other tumors (e.g pineal and pituitary tumors)
- primary brain tumors occur more often inside the brain than outside it.

- Metastatic intracranial tumors – often the primary sites of intractranial metastatic tumors are the lungs (bronchus) or breast
- Granulomas - are tumors composed of granulation tissue.

b. Spinal Tumors – may occurs outside of the spinal cord (extrameduliary) or whtin the substance of the spinal cord (intramedullary)

- Pathophysiology: Spinal cord compression is the common pathologic feature of all tumors within the spinal canal since it has little room for expansion. compression of the spinal cord interrupts the functions of the nerve fibers in the cords’ peripheral portion.
- Assessment
a. Early characteristics include pain, sensory loss, muscle weakness and wasting
b. Progressive cord compression – spastic wekness below the level of the lesion, decreased sensation and reflexes
c. Severe cord compression – paraplegia, quadriplegia

c. Intervention: Surgery, radiation theraphy or both

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