Head Trauma Flashcards
Head injury can cause what?
Skull fracture
Parenchymal and vascular injury
With fast moving projectiles there is a classical sign due to the field of Low pressure
Cavitation (small bubbles appearing at low pressure)
With blunt injury the smaller the contact time the larger the force TRUE/FALSE
TRUE
What are the 3 types of skull fracture
Linear
Compound
Depressed
Contra-coup injuries are often worse than coup TRUE/FALSE
TRUE
Why does diffuse axonal injury occur?
Because of shearing strains
Primary injuries can be reversible TRUE/FALSE
FALSE
Primary injury- injury to neurones, irreversible, preventative measures
Secondary injury- Potentially treatable
Where are most intracranial haematomas?
Unilateral Intradural supratentorial
What are some secondary injuries of head trauma?
Intracranial haematoma Reduced cerebral blood flow Hypoxic brain damage Excitotoxicity Oedema Raised ICP Infection
What is excitotoxicity?
Neuronal death process induced by the massive release of glutamate