Causes of Brain Injury
Trauma
There are different types of traumatic injuries that can occur:
Penetration – the skull and brain are penetrated by a hard object, such as a bullet or knife
Crush – the skull and brain are crushed between two hard surfaces
Open – the skull is fractured with an opening, causing the brain to be exposed
Closed – there may be a skull fracture but there is no opening, so the brain remains covered by the skull. This is the most common type of brain injury.
Stroke
A stroke can be caused in two different ways:
Blocked Artery – this occur when a blood clot or other substance fills the artery and blocks the blood from getting through. The tissue does not get its necessary oxygen, which causes the cells to become damaged or die. This is the cause of 80% of all strokes.
Bleeding – the artery may have a damaged or weak spot from birth which is called an aneurysm. This aneurysm may get weaker over time and suddenly burst, causing the blood to flow out into the tissues and form a blood clot. The blood is toxic to brain tissue and the clot can put pressure on the surrounding tissues causing them to malfunction.
Bleeding
Bleeding can occur as a consequence of a stroke or from trauma.
Anoxia
This simply refers to an absence of oxygen. The brain is very sensitive to lack of oxygen and cell damage will start to occur after only three minutes. Examples of this type of injury are near drowning, hanging, cardiac or respiratory arrest (no heart beat or breathing) or excessive bleeding somewhere else in the body causing the body to not have enough blood to go around.
Infection
Severe infection of the brain (Encephalitis) or of the membranes (Meningitis) can cause damage to brain cells and their ability to function.
Tumor
A tumor will act much like a blood clot, as it compresses surrounding tissue causing malfunction. Or it might grow outward consuming the brain cells as it goes.
Surgery
Surgery of the brain is often necessary to remove a tumor or to stop seizures. Unfortunately, damage may be caused by the unavoidable cutting and/or removal of pieces of brain tissue.