Subdural haematomas are far more common than epidural haematomas and acute subdural haematomas are one of the leading causes of death and disability in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. Subdural haematomas are due to an accumulation of blood between the dura and arachnoid. This is most often due to head injury resulting in a…
Subarachnoid haemorrhages are where there is an extravasation of blood into the space between the arachnoid and pia. Subarachnoid haemorrhages often develop as a result of rupture of a cerebral aneurysm (most often arising from the circle of Willis or the middle cerebral artery bifurcation) or consequent to severe head trauma. Patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage secondary to aneurysmal…
There are a number of causes of spontaneous parenchymal haemorrhages. These include: hypertension, vascular malformations and aneurysms, neoplasm (primary or metastatic), cerebral amyloid angiopathy, use of antiplatelet agents or anti-coagulants, blood dyscrasias and drug abuse (e.g. amphetamine and cocaine use). Parenchymal haemorrhages could also be subdivided into deep versus lobar haemorrhages, where deep haemorrhages (basal ganglia, thalamus,…
Often, as a consequence of severe head injury, there may be haemorrhage within various intracranial compartments. In these 2 cases (Patient 1 – Figure 1, Patient 2 – Figures 2 to 11), both patients sustained a severe head injury. A combination of subdural , parenchymal and subarachnoid haemorrhage could be seen. In the second case,…
This is a non-contrast cranial CT from a middle-aged man with multiple cardiovascular risk factors who suffered a severe ischaemic stroke involving the left middle cerebral artery territory. There was significant cytotoxic cerebral oedema as a result of the extensive infarction. The patient was operated on by the Neurosurgeons and a left hemi-craniectomy was performed…