Types of head injuries
Serious head injuries may cause injuries to the brain. Head injuries are classified as either open or closed.
Open head injuries:
- Break or crush the bones of the skull.
- Can injure the brain and allow germs to come in contact with the brain.
- Are emergencies and require immediate medical care.
Closed head injuries:
- Do not break through the bones of the skull. The skull may have fractured, but the scalp is not cut or scraped.
- Are caused by a hard blow or impact that jars the brain within the skull. The rapid movement of the brain within the skull can:
- Cause bruising, swelling, or tearing of the brain tissue.
- Stretch, pull apart, or tear nerves or blood vessels, causing bleeding within or around the brain.
- Can be hard to identify. You might not be able to see an injury, because of bleeding or deformity near the injury.
Both open and closed head injuries may cause:
- An interruption in the way the brain normally works (concussion).
- Bruising and swelling of the brain tissue (brain bruise [contusion]).
- Bleeding within or around the brain, a life-threatening injury. Symptoms of this type of injury may be the same as those of a concussion. More serious symptoms usually develop within 24 hours after the injury. In rare cases, if the bleeding is slow, symptoms take longer to develop.
| Author: | Jan Nissl, RN, BS | Last Updated: July 9, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine | |
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