Cerebral hypoxia is a form of
hypoxia (reduced supply of
oxygen) specifically involving the
brain; when the brain is completely deprived of oxygen it is called
cerebral anoxia. There are four categories of cerebral hypoxia; they are, in order of severity: diffuse cerebral hypoxia (DCH), focal cerebral ischemia,
cerebral infarction, and global cerebral ischemia. Prolonged hypoxia induces
neuronal cell death via
apoptosis, resulting in a hypoxic brain injury.