Head Injuries Flashcards
define consciousness
awareness of self and surroundings in individual provided with adequate stimuli
what is a basal skull fracture
fracture of the base of the skull, which could rupture important blood vessels that pass through the skull
why do the nose and ears bleed upon head injury
nasal bones and ears drum are delicate and can rupture allowing blood to leak out if injury is severe enough
what does it mean if colourless fluid leaks out of the ears
cerebrospinal fluid warning sign that subarachnoid space has been punctured
the lining below this mia mater is adhered to the brain therefore could be damaged
what protects the brain
hair, scalp, bone, meninges, CSF
what are the three meningeal membranes and where is CSF found
dure mater, arachnoid, pia mater and CSF is found between the pia mater and arachnoid
what does the pupillary light reflex test
light shone in patient eye which tests CNS function and integrity of cranial nerves
what is the retina and circular muscle of the iris controlled by
retina - innervated by CNII (sensory)
circular muscle of iris - innervated by CNIII (motor)
what can affect the response of the pupillary light reflex
drugs, metabolic disorders or damage to the nerves
describe the glasgow coma scale
3 elements = eye opening, verbal response, nest motor response
15 highest score ie fully awake, 3 lowest score deep coma or death
eye opening grade 1-4 = spontaneous (4), response to shout, pain, no eye opening (1)
verbal response 1-5 = orientated (5), confused with disorientation, random speech or exclamatory, moaning / incomprehensible, nor verbal response (1)
best motor response 1-6 = obeys command (6), localising response to pain, pulls limb away from pain, flexor response, extensor response, no response to pain (1)
wha does consciousness depend on
integrity of the cerebral cortex and ascending reticular activating system
what is cerebral perfusion pressure and what affects it
the mean arterial pressure
raised intracranial pressure affects cerebral perfusion pressure
if accumulation of blood or tumour occurs in the brain how does this affect cerebral perfusion pressure
compresses the brain increasing intracranial pressure which decrease the cerebral perfusion pressure
what is an extradural haematoma
build up of blood outside of the meninges under the skull - this is due to rupture of meningeal vessels which run between the skull and meninges
right sided haematoma is associated with what and why does this happen
deterioration in pupillary constriction on the right but motor response to pain is worse on the left side
nerves responsible for pupillary constriction do not cross but nerves responsible for movement do
