Essay --

Certain factors such as symptoms, risk factors, and medical history of the patient help in performing the diagnosis procedure for determining encephalitis. Some diagnostic tests for encephalitis include brain imaging, lumbar puncture, electroencephalogram, secondary lab tests, and brain biopsy. Many physicians often perform brain imaging first when symptoms start to suspect evidence of encephalitis. When brain imaging is conducted, results frequently depict swelling of the brain. The doctor may call for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan or computerized tomography (CT) scan. A MRI scan provides cross-sectional images of the body and helps the doctor observe high-resolution pictures of the bones and tissues whereas a CT scan allows the doctor to go more in depth in observing the size, shape, and position of deep structures within the body. In a lumbar puncture, the doctor supplements a needle into the lower back to remove cerebrospinal fluid which is responsible for surrounding the brain. Blood cells and immune system proteins can indicate inflammation and infection in the brain...