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A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma.If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of the impact and cause damage to the underlying structures within the skull such as the membranes, blood vessels, and brain.
The Hangman's fracture which is a fracture of the C2 vertebral body or dens of the cervical spine upon which the skull base sits to allow the head to rotate, can also be associated with atlanto-occipital dislocation. Despite its eponym, the fracture is not usually associated with a hanging mechanism of injury. [13]
A basilar skull fracture typically requires a significant degree of trauma to occur. [1] It is defined as a fracture of one or more of the temporal, occipital, sphenoid, frontal or ethmoid bone. [1] Basilar skull fractures are divided into anterior fossa, middle fossa and posterior fossa fractures. [1] Facial fractures often also occur. [1]
Some patients may have linear or depressed skull fractures. If intracranial hemorrhage occurs, a hematoma within the skull can put pressure on the brain. Types of intracranial hemorrhage include subdural, subarachnoid, extradural, and intraparenchymal hematoma. Craniotomy surgeries are used in these cases to lessen the pressure by draining off ...
Lack of CSF pressure and volume can allow the brain to sag and descend through the foramen magnum (large opening) of the occipital bone, at the base of the skull. The lower portion of the brain is believed to stretch or impact one or more cranial nerve complexes, thereby causing a variety of sensory symptoms. Nerves that can be affected and ...
A penetrating head injury, or open head injury, is a head injury in which the dura mater, the outer layer of the meninges, is breached. [1] Penetrating injury can be caused by high-velocity projectiles or objects of lower velocity such as knives, or bone fragments from a skull fracture that are driven into the brain.
Closed-head injury is a type of traumatic brain injury in which the skull and dura mater remain intact. Closed-head injuries are the leading cause of death in children under 4 years old and the most common cause of physical disability and cognitive impairment in young people.
In time the swelling hardens (calcification) leaving a relatively softer centre so that it appears as a 'depressed fracture'. Cephalohematoma should be distinguished from another scalp bleeding called subgaleal hemorrhage (also called subaponeurotic hemorrhage), which is blood between the scalp and skull bone (above the periosteum) and is more ...