Coup-Contrecoup brain injury involves damage at the site of impact and on the opposite side.

Coup-Contrecoup brain injury involves damage at the site of impact and on the opposite side.

• A. Epidural Hematoma
• B. Subdural Hematoma
• C. Coup-Contrecoup
• D. Aura

Answer: (C)

When the head undergoes a rapid acceleration-deceleration, the brain surges within the skull and can strike the inner surfaces at two points: the site of impact and the opposite side. This double-hit creates contusions both where the brain first contacts the skull (coup) and on the opposite side (contrecoup). That dual-site pattern is what defines this type of brain injury. This differs from an epidural hematoma, which is a collection of arterial blood between the skull and the dura, typically from a skull fracture and often with a characteristic lucid interval. It’s about a vascular bleed at one junction rather than bruising at two opposing brain surfaces. A subdural hematoma involves a venous bleed between the dura and the arachnoid due to torn bridging veins, and it usually develops more slowly after injury. An aura is just a sensory or perceptual phenomenon that can precede seizures or migraines, not a mechanical injury pattern of the brain tissue itself. So coup-contrecoup describes the bruising on both the initial impact site and the opposite side, caused by the brain’s movement within the skull during trauma.

When the head undergoes a rapid acceleration-deceleration, the brain surges within the skull and can strike the inner surfaces at two points: the site of impact and the opposite side. This double-hit creates contusions both where the brain first contacts the skull (coup) and on the opposite side (contrecoup). That dual-site pattern is what defines this type of brain injury.

This differs from an epidural hematoma, which is a collection of arterial blood between the skull and the dura, typically from a skull fracture and often with a characteristic lucid interval. It’s about a vascular bleed at one junction rather than bruising at two opposing brain surfaces. A subdural hematoma involves a venous bleed between the dura and the arachnoid due to torn bridging veins, and it usually develops more slowly after injury. An aura is just a sensory or perceptual phenomenon that can precede seizures or migraines, not a mechanical injury pattern of the brain tissue itself.

So coup-contrecoup describes the bruising on both the initial impact site and the opposite side, caused by the brain’s movement within the skull during trauma.