In trauma, the brain sustains injury at the time of impact (primary brain injury) and as a result of subsequent processes (secondary brain injury). Primary injury includes direct brain bruising and shearing injury to the brain known as diffuse axonal injury. Secondary injury results from:
In a head injured patient, the neurosurgeon aims to protect the brain (neuroprotection) from such adverse effects, reduce brain swelling and provide adequate blood supply / oxygenation (autoregulation) to vulnerable brain tissue. |
 Normal Brain |
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| Most of the treatment is therefore aimed at limiting secondary or on-going injury. Direct injury that occurs at impact is sometimes irreversible. A brain cell that is killed or permanently damaged cannot recover. Hence, the importance of preventing a traumatic accident in the first place. | |||||||||