Moderate and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Traumatic brain injuries arise from open or closed head injuries. Most traumatic brain injuries result from closed head injuries (an example of an open head injury is an object penetrating the skull). Brain injuries occur as the result of acceleration-deceleration forces (linear or angular), blunt trauma, or both. Traumatic brain injuries occur on a broad continuum of severity, from very mild transient injuries to catastrophic injuries resulting in death or severe disability. The continuum of severity of traumatic brain injury is illustrated in Fig. 21.1.