Benign
A swelling or growth that is not cancerous, does not spread from one part of the body to another (metastases) and is usually not dangerous.

Biopsy
The surgical removal of tissue for microscopic examination in order to determine whether cancer cells or a disease are present.

Blast
See lymphoblast

Blood count
A complete blood count (CBC), also known as full blood count (FBC) or full blood exam (FBE) or blood panel, is a test requested by a doctor that gives information about the cells in a patient's blood, providing clues about the presence or absence of certain diseases.

The cells that circulate in the bloodstream are generally divided into three types: white blood cells (leukocytes), red blood cells (erythrocytes), and platelets (thrombocytes). A blood count tells the doctor how many red cells, white cells and platelets are present in the blood sample. Abnormally high or low counts may indicate the presence of a serious disease and therefore blood counts are among the most commonly performed blood tests in medicine.

Bone marrow
The spongy material found inside the bones. Most blood cells are made in the bone marrow.

Bone marrow aspiration/biopsy
A procedure in which a needle is inserted into a bone (usually at the back of hip just above the tailbone) to retrieve a sample of marrow. By examining the marrow under a microscope, blood diseases can be diagnosed.

Bone marrow transplant
Infusing a solution of marrow (looks like a blood transfusion) into a patient whose own bone marrow can no longer make normal, healthy cells.

Bone tumour
The description bone tumour is actually an inexact expression as it technically refers to both benign and malignant abnormal growths in bone. But bone tumour most commonly refers to cancerous primary tumours of bone, such as osteosarcoma. It also applies—although less exactly—to secondary or metastatic tumours found in bone.

Brain and other central nervous system tumours (CNS)
Tumours of the brain and spinal cord [link] are the most common type of primary solid tumour in children. They account for 17 per cent of new cases and 24 per cent of deaths. There has been less dramatic progress in treating these tumours than most other childhood malignancies because they are hard to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. Improvements in neurosurgical techniques and radiation therapy have increased the changes of survival so that the diagnosis of a brain tumour is no longer necessarily fatal.

About 20 per cent of all primary brain tumours arise in children under the age of 15, somewhat more in boys than girls. There is a peak between the ages of five and 10.

BROVIAC™ catheter
A special permanent intravenous line that is surgically inserted into a large vein near the heart. The other end of the BROVIAC™ catheter comes out through the skin onto the chest wall where it is clamped off. This line provides instant IV access to the patient for infusion of drugs, fluids, blood products and for blood tests. Also known as a central venous line (CVL).

NOTE: BROVIAC™ catheter is a trademarks of C.R. Bard Inc. and its related company, BCR Inc.