Skip to main content

Imaging of Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Atlas of Emergency Imaging from Head-to-Toe

Abstract

Traumatic injury to the brain and head has several manifestations, including primary brain parenchymal injuries, secondary brain injury, extra-axial hemorrhage, and vascular injury. In this chapter, we review the mechanisms and imaging appearance of traumatic brain injury on CT, MRI, and cerebrovascular imaging. We also discuss the role of advanced imaging techniques in the investigation of brain trauma.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 899.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 649.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Drew LB, Drew WE. The contrecoup–coup phenomenon: a new understanding of the mechanism of closed head injury. Neurocrit Care. 2004;1(3):385–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kurland D, Hong C, Aarabi B, Gerzanich V, Simard JM. Hemorrhagic progression of a contusion after traumatic brain injury: a review. J Neurotrauma. 2012;29(1):19–31.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Brown CVR, Zada G, Salim A, Inaba K, Kasotakis G, Hadjizacharia P, et al. Indications for routine repeat head computed tomography (CT) stratified by severity of traumatic brain injury. J Trauma. 2007;62(6):1339–45.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Smith JS, Chang EF, Rosenthal G, Meeker M, Von Koch C, Manley GT, et al. The role of early follow-up computed tomography imaging in the management of traumatic brain injury patients with intracranial hemorrhage. J Trauma. 2007;63(1):75–82.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sullivan TP, Jarvik JG, Cohen WA. Follow-up of conservatively managed epidural hematomas: implications for timing of repeat CT. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1999;20(1):107–13.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Hammoud DA, Wasserman BA. Diffuse axonal injuries: pathophysiology and imaging. Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2002;12(2):205–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Huisman TAGM, Sorensen AG, Hergan K, Gonzalez RG, Schaefer PW. Diffusion-weighted imaging for the evaluation of diffuse axonal injury in closed head injury. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2003;27(1):5–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Humble SS, Wilson LD, Wang L, Long DA, Smith MA, Siktberg JC, et al. Prognosis of diffuse axonal injury with traumatic brain injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2018;85(1):155–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Chavhan GB, Babyn PS, Thomas B, Shroff MM, Haacke EM. Principles, techniques, and applications of T2*-based MR imaging and its special applications. Radiographics. 2009;29(5):1433–49.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Jha RM, Kochanek PM, Simard JM. Pathophysiology and treatment of cerebral edema in traumatic brain injury. Neuropharmacology. 2019;145(Pt B):230–46.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Winkler EA, Minter D, Yue JK, Manley GT. Cerebral edema in traumatic brain injury: pathophysiology and prospective therapeutic targets. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2016;27(4):473–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Toth P, Szarka N, Farkas E, Ezer E, Czeiter E, Amrein K, et al. Traumatic brain injury-induced autoregulatory dysfunction and spreading depression-related neurovascular uncoupling: Pathomechanisms, perspectives, and therapeutic implications. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2016;311(5):H1118–H31.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Kubal WS. Updated imaging of traumatic brain injury. Radiol Clin N Am. 2012;50(1):15–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Given CA 2nd, Burdette JH, Elster AD, Williams DW 3rd. Pseudo-subarachnoid hemorrhage: a potential imaging pitfall associated with diffuse cerebral edema. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2003;24(2):254–6.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Altmeyer W, Steven A, Gutierrez J. Use of magnetic resonance in the evaluation of cranial trauma. Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am. 2016;24(2):305–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Clement MO. Imaging of brain trauma. Radiol Clin N Am. 2019;57(4):733–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Verma SK, Borkar SA, Singh PK, Tandon V, Gurjar HK, Sinha S, et al. Traumatic posterior fossa extradural hematoma: experience at level I trauma center. Asian J Neurosurg. 2018;13(2):227–32.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Ramesh VG, Kodeeswaran M, Deiveegan K, Sundar V, Sriram K. Vertex epidural hematoma: an analysis of a large series. Asian J Neurosurg. 2017;12(2):167–71.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Khairat A, Waseem M. Epidural hematoma. Treasure Island: StatPearls; 2020.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Freeman WD, Aguilar MI. Intracranial hemorrhage: diagnosis and management. Neurol Clin. 2012;30(1):211–40, ix.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Gean AD, Fischbein NJ, Purcell DD, Aiken AH, Manley GT, Stiver SI. Benign anterior temporal epidural hematoma: indolent lesion with a characteristic CT imaging appearance after blunt head trauma. Radiology. 2010;257(1):212–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Araki T, Yokota H, Morita A. Pediatric traumatic brain injury: characteristic features, diagnosis, and management. Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2017;57(2):82–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Prat R, Galeano I. Posterior fossa venous epidural hematoma. Based on 2 cases. Neurologia. 2003;18(1):38–41.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Selariu E, Zia E, Brizzi M, Abul-Kasim K. Swirl sign in intracerebral haemorrhage: definition, prevalence, reliability and prognostic value. BMC Neurol. 2012;12:109.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Hirsh LF. Chronic epidural hematomas. Neurosurgery. 1980;6(5):508–12.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Takeuchi S, Takasato Y, Wada K, Nawashiro H, Otani N, Masaoka H, et al. Traumatic posterior fossa subdural hematomas. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012;72(2):480–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Borzone M, Rivano C, Altomonte M, Baldini M. Acute traumatic posterior fossa subdural haematomas. Acta Neurochir. 1995;135(1–2):32–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Lolli V, Pezzullo M, Delpierre I, Sadeghi N. MDCT imaging of traumatic brain injury. Br J Radiol. 2016;89(1061):20150849.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Stone JL, Lang RG, Sugar O, Moody RA. Traumatic subdural hygroma. Neurosurgery. 1981;8(5):542–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Brant WE, Helms CA. Fundamentals of diagnostic radiology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2007. p. xix, 1559 p., ISBN: 0781761352.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Armin SS, Colohan AR, Zhang JH. Traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage: our current understanding and its evolution over the past half century. Neurol Res. 2006;28(4):445–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Kramer DR, Winer JL, Pease BA, Amar AP, Mack WJ. Cerebral vasospasm in traumatic brain injury. Neurol Res Int. 2013;2013:415813.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Johnson PL, Eckard DA, Chason DP, Brecheisen MA, Batnitzky S. Imaging of acquired cerebral herniations. Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2002;12(2):217–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Dammers R, Volovici V, Kompanje EJ. The history of the Kernohan notch revisited. Neurosurgery. 2016;78(4):581–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Parizel PM, Makkat S, Jorens PG, Ozsarlak O, Cras P, Van Goethem JW, et al. Brainstem hemorrhage in descending transtentorial herniation (Duret hemorrhage). Intensive Care Med. 2002;28(1):85–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Osborn AG, Heaston DK, Wing SD. Diagnosis of ascending transtentorial herniation by cranial computed tomography. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1978;130(4):755–60.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. York G, Barboriak D, Petrella J, DeLong D, Provenzale JM. Association of internal carotid artery injury with carotid canal fractures in patients with head trauma. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2005;184(5):1672–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Biffl WL, Moore EE, Offner PJ, Brega KE, Franciose RJ, Burch JM. Blunt carotid arterial injuries: implications of a new grading scale. J Trauma. 1999;47(5):845–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Fattahi TT, Brandt MT, Jenkins WS, Steinberg B. Traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula: pathophysiology and treatment. J Craniofac Surg. 2003;14(2):240–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Chen CC, Chang PC, Shy CG, Chen WS, Hung HC. CT angiography and MR angiography in the evaluation of carotid cavernous sinus fistula prior to embolization: a comparison of techniques. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2005;26(9):2349–56.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Zanini MA, de Lima Resende LA, de Souza Faleiros AT, Gabarra RC. Traumatic subdural hygromas: proposed pathogenesis based classification. J Trauma. 2008;64(3):705–13.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Uzan M, Cantasdemir M, Seckin MS, Hanci M, Kocer N, Sarioglu AC, et al. Traumatic intracranial carotid tree aneurysms. Neurosurgery. 1998;43(6):1314–20; discussion 20–2.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Mutch CA, Talbott JF, Gean A. Imaging evaluation of acute traumatic brain injury. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2016;27(4):409–39.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Koerte IK, Hufschmidt J, Muehlmann M, Lin AP, Shenton ME. Advanced neuroimaging of mild traumatic brain injury. In: Laskowitz D, Grant G, editors. Translational research in traumatic brain injury, Frontiers in neuroscience. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Wintermark M, Sanelli PC, Anzai Y, Tsiouris AJ, Whitlow CT, American College of Radiology Head Injury Institute. Imaging evidence and recommendations for traumatic brain injury: advanced neuro- and neurovascular imaging techniques. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015;36(2):E1–E11.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  46. Glover GH. Overview of functional magnetic resonance imaging. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2011;22(2):133–9, vii.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Scheibel RS. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of cognitive control following traumatic brain injury. Front Neurol. 2017;8:352.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  48. Smith LGF, Milliron E, Ho ML, Hu HH, Rusin J, Leonard J, et al. Advanced neuroimaging in traumatic brain injury: an overview. Neurosurg Focus. 2019;47(6):E17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Douglas DB, Ro T, Toffoli T, Krawchuk B, Muldermans J, Gullo J, et al. Neuroimaging of traumatic brain injury. Med Sci (Basel). 2018;7(1)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Lee AL. Advanced imaging of traumatic brain injury. Korean J Neurotrauma. 2020;16(1):3–17.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Rostami E, Engquist H, Enblad P. Imaging of cerebral blood flow in patients with severe traumatic brain injury in the neurointensive care. Front Neurol. 2014;5:114.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Wallace EJ, Mathias JL, Ward L. Diffusion tensor imaging changes following mild, moderate and severe adult traumatic brain injury: a meta-analysis. Brain Imaging Behav. 2018;12(6):1607–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Ng TS, Lin AP, Koerte IK, Pasternak O, Liao H, Merugumala S, et al. Neuroimaging in repetitive brain trauma. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2014;6(1):10.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter G. Kranz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Wiggins, W.F., Dixon, A.X., Kranz, P.G. (2022). Imaging of Traumatic Brain Injury. In: Patlas, M.N., Katz, D.S., Scaglione, M. (eds) Atlas of Emergency Imaging from Head-to-Toe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92111-8_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92111-8_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-92110-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-92111-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics