Abstract
The brain of the infant differs greatly from that of the older child or adult because of its lack of myelination. Myelin confers both strength and elasticity on the brain; thus, when the infant’s brain is subjected to stress, the white matter readily tears. Such tears can underlie the intact dura and skull and may lead to the production of cavities that frequently contain blood and eventually become smooth-walled glial scars. Only when myelination has sufficiently progressed—that is, when the infant is beyond 6 months old—do areas of contusion in the brain appear that are similar to those seen in the older child or adult.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hoffman, H.J., Taecholarn, C. (1986). Outcomes of Craniocerebral Trauma in Infants. In: Raimondi, A.J., Choux, M., Di Rocco, C. (eds) Head Injuries in the Newborn and Infant. Principles of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7183-4_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7183-4_18
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-7185-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-7183-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive