Chapter 9
Injuries to the head, neck, and face
Slide 2: Anatomy
Skull
● skull has 8 cranial bones and 14 facial bones
● Cranial bones have articulations called suture joints
Slide 3: Anatomy cont.
● soft tissue structures protect the cranium and the brain
Slide 4: Meninges
● located underneath cranial bones, consisting the dura mater, arachnoid, and pia mater
Slide 5: Meninges (cont)
● Dura mater is dense and highly vascularized
● Arachnoid (middle layer) is less dense and avascular
● Subarachnoid space contains cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
● CSF cushions the brain and spinal cord from external forces
● Pia mater (innermost layer) is thin, delicate, and highly vascularized
Slide 6: Central Nervous System
Central Nervous System
● brain(encephalon) and spinal cord compose in CNS
● CNS is protected by meninges, cranium, and vertebral
● CNS consists of gray and white matter and weighs 3 to 3.5 lbs
(adult)
● Brain has three basic components­ cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem ● Neural impulses travel to and from the CNS via 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves
Slide 7: The face
● face is composed of skin placed over underlying bones
● Several areas of the pace are prone to injury, particularly orbits of the eyes, nasal bones, and mandible
Slide 8: The neck
The neck(cervical spine)

● the 7 cervical vertebrae provide support for the head and protection for the spinal cord
Slide 9: the neck cont
● first cervical vertebra (C­1) is called the atlas
● the atlas articulates with occipital bone to form R and L atlanto­occipital joints
● the second cervical vertebra (C2) is called the axis
● the skull and C­1 articulate as a unit with C­2 to form the atlantoaxial joint Slide 10: Head injuries in Sports even minor head trauma can result in serious injury
● brain tissue is unable to repair itself
● any tissue loss results in some level of permanent disability
● Severe injuries can result in death
● Coaches can learn to recognize head injuries and render first aid when necessary
Slide 11: Mechanisms of Head injury
● Direct mechanism of injury involves a blow to the head that causes injury at impact site (coup injury) or on the opposite side of the skull from impact (contrecoup injury)
● Indirect injury to the head results from damaging forces traveling from other parts of the body treat every head injury as if there is a neck injury and vice versa
Slide 12: Concussions
● concussion is a clinical syndrome characterized by immediate and transient impairment of neurologic function secondary to mechanical force.” ○ symptoms include unconsciousness, disorientation,headache, amnesia (anterograde or retrograde), dizziness, and disequilibrium Slide 13: SKIPPED
Slide 14: Second impact syndrome
SIS can be a serious problem

● Results when an athlete with a head injury receives another head injury before the symptoms of the initial injury have resolved
● INvolves rapid, catastrophic brain swelling
● SIS can result in death any athlete sustaining a head injury, no matter how minor, should be referred to a physician before being cleared to return to participation
Slide 15: Cranial Injury
● involves the bones of the skull
● May also have associated soft tissue injury
● More severe forms of cranial injury involve depressed skull fractures
● involves bone fragments being pushed into the cranial region
Slide 16: intracranial injury
● these injuries are potentially life threatening
● Majority result from blunt trauma to the head
● Disruption of blood vessels results in intracranial bleeding
(hematoma) and swelling within the cranium
Slide 17: Intracranial injuries major forms of intracranial injury include:
● Epidural hematoma
● Subdural Hematoma
● Intracerebral hematoma
● Cerebral contusion
Epidural hematoma develops quickly due to arterial bleeding, while subdural hematoma develops slowly due to venous bleeding
Some degree of permanent