Traumatic brain injury

Free

E-Newsletters

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain as the result of an injury.

Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head that causes the brain to collide with the inside of the skull. An object penetrating the skull, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull, also can cause traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury may cause temporary dysfunction of brain cells. More serious traumatic brain injury can result in bruising, torn tissues, bleeding and other physical damage to the brain that can result in long-term complications or death.

References
  1. Living with brain injury: Education. Brain Injury Association of America. http://www.biausa.org/education.htm. Accessed July 8, 2010.
  2. Heads up: Facts for physicians about mild traumatic brain injury. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/physicians_tool_kit.html. Accessed July 7, 2010.
  3. Traumatic brain injury: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/detail_tbi.htm. Accessed July 8, 2010.
  4. Ling GS, et al. Management of traumatic brain injury in the intensive care unit. Neurologic Clinics. 2008;26:409.
  5. Nolan S. Traumatic brain injury: A review. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly. 2005;28:188.
  6. Living with brain injury: Treatment and rehabilitation. Brain Injury Association of America. http://www.biausa.org/treatmentandrehab.htm. Accessed July 8, 2010.
  7. Traumatic brain injury. Family Caregiver Alliance. http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=579. Accessed July 21, 2010.
  8. Coping with behavior problems after head injury. Family Caregiver Alliance. http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=396. Accessed July 21, 2010.
  9. Brown AW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 11, 2010.
  10. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: Emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths, 2002-2006. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/TraumaticBrainInjury. Accessed Aug. 16, 2010.
  11. Military & veterans. BrainLine.org. http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/military.html. Accessed Aug. 23, 2010.
  12. Thinking/cognitive symptoms. BrainLine.org. http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/cognitivesymptoms.html. Accessed Aug. 23, 2010.
  13. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Understanding brain injury: A guide for the family. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2008. http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/tbims/upload/ubi_families.pdf. Accessed Aug. 23, 2010.
  14. Moessner AM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. August 16, 2010.
  15. Behavioral and emotional symptoms. BrainLine.org. http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/behavioralsymptoms.html. Accessed Aug. 23, 2010.
DS00552 Sept. 16, 2010

© 1998-2012 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger