Definition
Mass effect is a phenomenon in which a focal lesion or contusion causes surrounding areas of brain tissue or brain structures to be compressed and injured due to the degree of space that leaking blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or edema takes up within the restricted skull space. The presence of mass effect following brain injury almost always indicates the presence of a more severe injury than a brain injury that occurs without resulting in mass effect. Mass effect can occur following traumatic brain injury, hemorrhagic cerebral stroke, subarachnoid cerebral aneurysm, nontraumatic cerebral aneurysm, and in the context of ruptured arteriovenous malformation.
Current Knowledge
In circumstances where a focal lesion or contusion causes mass effect within the brain, it becomes imperative to determine if surgical procedures or medications can be administered to reduce the impact of the space occupied by the lesion. Without emergent management, mass effect can dangerously increase...
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References and Readings
Broderick, J. P., Brott, T. G., Duldner, J. E., Tomsick, T., & Huster, G. (1993). Volume of intracerebral hemorrhage: A powerful and easy-to-use predictor of 30-day mortality. Stroke, 24, 987–993.
Zazulia, A. R., Diringer, M. N., Derdeyn, C. P., & Powers, W. J. (1999). Progression of mass effect after intracerebral hemorrhage. Stroke, 30, 1167–1173.
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Rush, B. (2018). Mass Effect. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_253
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_253
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