What are the differences between an opened brain injury and a closed brain injury?

Answer 1

There are two basic types: open head injuries and closed head injuries. Open head TBIs are a frightening mess. Whether the injury comes from a bullet, a Baseball bat, or a high-speed collision, the result is always chaotic and distressing. The scalp bleeds a lot when it is cut, and when the skull is cracked or penetrated, pieces of it can get lodged in the brain. Because the brain is such a complicated tangle of tissue, it's extremely tricky to remove objects lodged inside a brain. That's why we put brain surgery right up there with rocket science in our everyday language.

In a closed head injury, nothing penetrates your skull, but a closed head injury can be just as complicated and vicious as an open head injury, sometimes more so. During a closed head injury, the brain may slam against one portion of the skull, then bounce against the opposite side of the wall. Doctors call that a "coup-contracoup" injury, where two injuries occur from a single blow. One of the most common types of closed head injury is a concussion - a strong blow from an external force. If a person's head is whipped around, a small tearing effect called shearing occurs throughout the brain, resulting in a diffuse axonal injury. Axons are the hairlike extensions of nerve cells that transmit messages, so in a diffuse axonal injury, the messages either get mixed up, or they don't come through at all.

Answer 2

An open brain injury involves a penetration of the skull, often from a traumatic force, exposing the brain to the environment. In contrast, a closed brain injury does not involve penetration of the skull, but rather results from a blunt force causing damage to the brain within the skull. Treatment and prognosis can differ based on the type and severity of the injury.