Closed head injuries have become common in some sporting events. Discuss closed head injuries; include in your discussion the site of impact and site of damage and implications for diagnosis and possible treatment.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

From the text, p 532: Traumatic brain injuries can be divided into two categories. Openhead injuries involve penetration of the skull, whereas concussions, or closed head injuries, do not. Open head injuries usually occur as a result of gunshot wounds or of fractures of the skull in which fragments of bone enter the brain. A projectile produces immediate damage to tissues in its pathway, which is compounded by the stretching and compression of the tissues that result from the shock waves produced by the projectile's movement (Risdall & Menon, 2011). The severity of the consequences of an open head injury is highly dependent on the areas of the brain that are affected. Injuries that involve damage to ventricles, both hemispheres, or multiple lobes of the brain are most likely to result in death (Martins, Siqueira, Santos, Zanon-Collange, & Moraes, 2003).