An 19-year-old man is admitted to the emergency room following a motorcycle accident. He is ale and fully oriented, but witnesses to the accident repo an interval of unresponsiveness following the injury. Skull films show a fracture of the left temporal bone. Following x-ray, the patient suddenly loses consciousness and dilation of the left pupil is noted. This patient should be considered to have?
Correct Answer: Epidural hematoma
Description: Epidural hematomas are typically caused by a tear of the middle meningeal aery or vein or a dural venous sinus. Ninety percent of epidural hematomas are associated with linear skull fractures, usually in the temporal region. The lesion appears as a hyperdense biconvex mass between the skull and brain on CT scan. The typical history is one of head trauma followed by a momentary alteration in consciousness and then a lucid interval lasting for up to a few hours. This is followed by a loss of consciousness, dilation of the pupil on the side of the epidural hematoma, and then compromise of the brainstem and death.
Category:
Surgery
Get More
Subject Mock Tests
Practice with over 200,000 questions from various medical subjects and improve your knowledge.
Attempt a mock test nowMock Exam
Take an exam with 100 random questions selected from all subjects to test your knowledge.
Coming SoonGet More
Subject Mock Tests
Try practicing mock tests with over 200,000 questions from various medical subjects.
Attempt a mock test now