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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology pp 1–2Cite as

Focal Lesion, Contusion

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Definition

Focal lesions are circumscribed areas of injury to brain tissue following brain injury. Such lesions may be created when an object penetrates the skull and directly injures an area of the brain. In closed head injury, such lesions are usually associated with vascular damage, such as contusions or hemorrhages.

Current Knowledge

In contrast to diffuse brain injuries, such as diffuse axonal injury, focal lesions and focal contusions can result in isolated deficits of cognition, speech, sensory, and language functions depending on location. Contusions, or bruises, typically form in gray matter where there is a higher degree of vasculature than in white matter. Hemorrhages and hematomas may be subarachnoid (SAH, between the dura and the skull), subdural (SDH, between dura and brain), epidural (EDH, associated with dural tears), or intracerebral (ICH, within brain tissue). Multiple focal lesions or contusions may result from diffuse vasculopathic processes that can cause a series...

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References and Readings

  • Ammerman, J. M., et al. (2006). Traumatic intracranial hemorrhage. In R. W. Evans (Ed.), Neurology and trauma (2nd ed., pp. 156–166). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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  • Bigler, E. D. (2001). Distinguished Neuropsychologist Award Lecture 1999. The lesion(s) in traumatic brain injury: implications for clinical neuropsychology. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 16, 95–131.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Davis 4-N, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA

    Beth Rush

Authors
  1. Beth Rush
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Correspondence to Beth Rush .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Rush, B. (2016). Focal Lesion, Contusion. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_242-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_242-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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