- Variable presentation depending on the mechanism of injury
- Can vary from concussion and mild traumatic brain injury to severe brain injury leading to coma, persistent vegetative state or brain death
- Epidural hematoma: An epidural hematoma (EDH) occurs when blood accumulates between the skull and the dura mater, the thick membrane covering the brain.
- Subdural hematoma: A subdural hematoma is a buildup of blood on the surface of the brain.
- Brain contusion: A contusion is a bruise to the brain itself. A contusion causes bleeding and swelling inside of the brain around the area where the head was struck.
- Diffuse axonal injury: Diffuse axonal injury is the shearing (tearing) of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibers (axons) that happens when the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the bony skull.
Trauma
