sphero-, spher-, -sphere-

1. The material universe.
2. An apparatus for showing the position of the earth, at any given time, with respect to the fixed stars.

It consists of a hollow glass globe, on which are depicted the stars and constellations, and within which is a terrestrial globe.

The region, or portion, of the earth’s surface that is characteristically covered by snow and ice and so frozen throughout the year.

Studies of the extent and status of the cryosphere can provide insights into the present and the past climate changes.

The habitat of cryptozoa.

1. In ecology, the earth and the living organisms that inhabit it, along with all the environmental factors that operate on these organisms; biosphere.
2. In astronomy, the region of space around a star that is considered to be capable of supporting life.
3. The region of space, including planets, whose conditions are not incompatible with the existence of living things.

That part of the biosphere in which the physiological processes of living organisms can occur; comprising the allobiosphere and autobiosphere.

Occurring or working outside the atmosphere.

1. The physical earth; a term for the solid mass (lithosphere) of the planet, or for the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere as a whole.
2. The solid matter of the earth, as distinct from the seas, plants, animals, and surrounding atmosphere.
3. The soils, sediments, and rock layers of the earth's crust, both continental and beneath the ocean floors.

A reference to the combination of the earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Saltwater areas as a whole; the marine portion of an environment.

1. The surgical removal of half the brain.
2. Excision of one cerebral hemisphere; undertaken for malignant tumors, intractable epilepsy usually associated with infantile hemiplegia due to birth injury, and other cerebral conditions.

Surgeons have performed hemispherectomies hundreds of times for disorders that can not be controlled any other way

• The surgery has no apparent effect on personality or memory.
• People can survive and function fairly well after the procedure although they may have some physical disabilities; such as, a significant loss of the function on one side of the body.
• A person can walk, run, dance, or skip; but some lose use of the hand opposite the hemisphere that was removed.
• Sometimes, if the left side of the brain is taken out, most people have problems with their speech; however, the younger a person is after a hemispherectomy, the less speech disability the person is likely to have.
• The surgery consists of two forms: "anatomical hemispherectomic removal" of an entire hemisphere of the brain or "functional hemispherectomies" that take out only parts of a hemisphere.
• Doctors often prefer anatomical hemispherectomies because "leaving even a little bit of brain behind can lead seizures to return", stated neurologist John Freeman of Johns Hopkins, which specializes in the procedure.
• The functional hemispherectomies, which U.C.L.A. surgeons usually perform, lead to less blood loss.
• A recent study found that 86 percent of the 111 children who underwent the procedure at Johns Hopkins between 1975 and 2001 are either seizure-free or have non-disabling seizures that do not require medication.
• One reason for the procedure is to stop debilitating seizures and today brain surgeons perform hemispherectomies on patients who undergo dozens of seizures daily which resist all medication and result from conditions that primarily afflict one hemisphere of the brain.
• The seizures are often progressive and damage the rest of the brain if not treated.
• A study found that children who underwent a hemispherectomy often improved academically [and physically] once their seizures stopped.
• Hemispherectomy is one of the most drastic kinds of brain surgery and it is done only when not doing so will be worse.