Synonyms
Brain injury; Head trauma; Open head injury
Definition
A penetrating head injury occurs when an object pierces through the skull, enters the brain tissue, and may or may not exit. It is often referred to as an open injury.
Current Knowledge
Causes
The amount of damage is typically determined by the impact or velocity of the object that enters the brain. Many penetrating head injuries are caused by puncture wounds, missile fragments or shrapnel, or low-velocity bullets. These types of injuries are more likely to produce focal lesions and can typically have more predictable outcomes. Such injuries typically occur in war and military settings. Penetrating injuries can also cause shock waves and exert pressure throughout the brain tissue, causing more global damage.
Pathophysiology
In missile injuries, air is compressed in front of the penetrating object causing an explosive effect as the fragment enters the brain tissue. It typically causes injury not only at the location it has...
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Adams, R. D., Victor, M., & Ropper, A. H. (1997). Craniocerebral trauma. In R. D. Adams, M. Victor, & A. H. Ropper (Eds.), Principles of neurology (6th ed., pp. 875–901). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Lezak, M. (1995). Neuropsychological assessment (3rd). New York: Oxford University Press.
Vinas, F. C., & Pilitsis, J. (2006). Penetrating head trauma. Retrieved 26 Dec 2007 from http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2888.htm
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Backhaus, S. (2018). Penetrating TBI. 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_265
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_265
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