Your brain is arguably one of the most important organs in your body.
Not only does it send out commands to regulate autonomic systems such as your heart beat and digestive peristalsis, but it also gathers and processes sensory information and directs muscle movement.
But perhaps most importantly, the brain is what makes you, you.
Therefore, it is no surprise that the hard, bony skull encases and protects the brain.
The brain is tightly packed inside the skull so that it cannot slide around and bruise.
However, serious accidents such as elevated falls, auto wrecks, and pedestrian accidents can all place extreme stress on the skull and brain.
This severe head trauma can leave you with permanent brain damage.
There are two main types of head damage: closed and open head injuries.
With open head injuries, an object pierces the skull, where it can tear into the brain tissue itself.
This can sever important neuronal connections, disrupting things like color vision, audio processing, language capabilities, etc.
While some function can be regained, the brain is often permanently damaged following open head trauma.
On the other hand, closed head injuries occur as a result of swelling, bleeding, or bruising of the brain.
Although the skull is tight around the brain, extreme force can cause it to slide in the skull and crash into one side of the bone.
This can lead to bleeding, bruising, and swelling.
However, there is not much room in the skull for excess blood or swelling.
It can place dangerous pressure on the brain, which may lead to permanent damage.
After a head injury, you can suffer from brain damage such as: -Seizures -Sleep problems -Areas of paralysis -Loss of senses or sensory processing -Memory loss -Confusion Sadly, doctors still have much to learn about the brain.
This means that brain damage from serious head injuries can be permanent.