Diseases & Conditions Blog

Four major blood vessels supply your brain with blood to provide it with essential nutrients and oxygen, There are the two carotid arteries in the front of your neck and the two vertebral arteries running up protective bony canals in the neck section of your spine, These major arteries join to form the brain’s vascular system, a roughly circular arrangement at the base of your brain. Branches from the circle supply blood to all its parts. Areas that depend on only a single branch are especially vulnerable to any disturbance in the flow of blood.The following articles deal with the principal ways in which the brain can be affected by defects in this system. These disorders, such as stroke, which are caused by inadequate blood supply or by bleeding in the brain tissue from diseased arteries, are serious ailments often marked by dramatic life-threatening attacks. Professional care is urgently needed for anyone who has an attack of this kind.

Extradural hemorrhage occurs when blood vessels in the dura mater, the outermost of the three meninges, or membranous layers that cover the brain, rupture. Blood then flows outwards over the surface of the brain, between the dura mater and the skull. The problem usually results from a head injury that causes some of the blood vessels in the outer surface of the dura mater to burst . Because these vessels are large, a substantial amount of blood leaks into the space between the dura mater and the skull. The symptoms of an extradural hemorrhage are likely to appear within 24 hours of the injury (see also Subdural hemorrhage and hematoma, previous article). Even if the original injury seemed trivial when it happened, the symptoms are not. They include a sudden severe headache; nausea, often culminates in vomiting; and increasing drowsiness, all of which ultimately to unconsciousness and death

What are The Risks?

Head injuries are very common, but only about ten per cent of them require hospital admission, and only one to two percent cause extradural hemorrhage as a complication. This disorder creates an emergency situation, however, because pressure on the brain mounts as more and more blood floods into the narrow space between brain and skull.

What Should be Done?

If you or anyone in your presence shows symptoms of an extradural hemorrhage, get medical help fast, especially if there has been a blow to the head within the past several hours or the last day. Unless the person is treated promptly, there is a danger of permanent brain damage or even death. The person will be admitted to the hospital immediately for diagnostic tests and general treatment for head injury . If tests indicate the presence of extradural hemorrhage, surgery will be necessary to stop the bleeding. The operation involves removing a portion of skull bone to release leaked blood and permit the surgeon to repair ruptured blood vessels. When the operation is done promptly, it usually results in complete recovery from all problems.