(Cont’d)
A brain hemorrhage describes bleeding within the brain or skull cavity. A brain hemorrhage can increase pressure inside the skull and cause brain damage.
Hematoma describes a collection of blood in the body’s tissues. An internal hemorrhage causes a hematoma. In head injuries, hematoma usually describes blood collecting in the tissue between the skull and brain.
Skull Fracture
Skull fractures can be mild or severe, but in all cases it’s not the damage to the bone that matters as much as any concurrent damage to the brain.
- Linear fracture indicates the skull bone is cracked, but the skull is not opened.
- Diastatic skull fracture occurs when the skull is separated along the joints between its plates.
- Comminuted skull fracture describes the condition when the bone is broken into many small fragments.
- Depressed skull fracture is a comminuted skull fracture with the bone fragments pushed inward.
- Basilar skull fracture is a break in the bones at the base of the skull. Some cases may be mild while others can be severe.
(See Head Injuries – Types of Skull Fractures and Treatment and Prognosis for Skull Fractures.)
Penetrating and Perforating Head Injuries
Penetrating head injury describes the condition when an object penetrates both the skull bone and membrane surrounding the brain and enters the brain tissue. If the object penetrates the head completely and exits, it is known as a perforating head injury. Many people do not survive such an injury.
Diffuse Axonal Injury
Whereas a focal injury is one occurring in a specific part of the brain, a diffuse injury occurs over a much more widespread area. Because axons are the cells involved in transmitting signals between nerve cells, a diffuse axonal injury disrupts nerve cell communication in large regions of the brain. A severe diffuse axonal injury often results in a permanent coma.
Related Articles
- Concussion Management in Organized Sports
- Concussion Symptoms
- Brain Injuries – Contusion, Hemorrhage and Hematoma
- Head Injuries – Types of Skull Fractures
- Treatment and Prognosis for Skull Fractures
- Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
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