Lecture28: Intracranial Pressure Flashcards
What causes lacerations?
Bullets or depressed fracture
What characterizes lacerations?
Arachnoid matter tearing, hemorrhage
What causes contusions?
Impact of head
What characterizes contusions?
Brain colliding with bony prominences and hemorrhage
Which part of the brain are contusions usually confined to?
Cortex
What is the morphology of contusions?
Wedge shaped areas of hemorrhagic necrosis
What is the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage?
Trauma
Where are subarachnoid hemorrhage and located?
Areas of contusion
What causes intracerebral hemorrhages?
Penetrating head wounds (same cause of lacerations)
Where are intracerebral hemorrhages located?
At sites of contusions and lacerations
What causes subdural hematoma?
The movement of the brain itself, not the impact, which also causes the tearing of the bridging veins
When do subdural hematomas appear?
Within the first 48 hours
Clinical symptoms of subdural hematoma?
Headache, confusion
If the blood trapped in the subdural space is not removed, what happens?
Infarction due to brain tissue compression
What causes epidural hematoma?
When the skull is hit and fractures, a dural vessel is torn
