A skull fracture is an injury to the bony skull, in which the bone can break in various places. Depending on the affected area, it can be a simple broken nose or a basal skull fracture. A skull fracture is often a severe injury that requires quick action.
In order to get a better idea of the skull fracture, the skull structure should first be clarified. The human skull consists of two parts: the facial skull with nasal bone, zygomatic bone, upper and lower jaw and some smaller bones, and the cerebral skull, which can be divided into a skullcap (skullcap) and skull base. Depending on its location, a skull fracture can be divided into a facial skull fracture, a skull base fracture and a skull calotte fracture.
Depending on this, one can assume that the extent of the damage after the injury varies. The cause of a skull fracture is in most cases external violence in the sense of sports or traffic accidents. Skull fractures are particularly problematic because directly under the bone of the skull lie important structures such as the brain, eyes, important nerves and a large number of blood vessels, which can quickly be affected, resulting in long-term damage. Fractures, such as the basal skull fracture, are often an acute emergency. When brain structures are involved, this is called craniocerebral trauma (SHT).
Symptoms
A fractured skull causes a number of general symptoms that are common to any serious injury. In addition, some phenomena of skull fracture can be observed, which are caused by the involvement of the brain. First of all, one can see changes in the head that are visible from the outside.
A skull fracture is always accompanied by a severe contusion of the skin of the head or face, which can tear and thus cause relatively heavy bleeding. In addition, the affected area under the skin swells and a bruise is formed. Especially in the face, a swelling with hematoma may be the only visible sign of a skull fracture.
In addition, a fractured skull causes severe pain immediately after violent impact, which is caused by both the fracture of the bone and the bruising of the underlying structures. Often days after the skull fracture and treatment, severe headaches are not uncommon. The fracture of the base of the skull in particular can manifest itself through another externally visible symptom, the discharge of blood and cerebral fluid (liquor) from the mouth, nose or ears.
This is a very alarming symptom, because then on the one hand vessels are ruptured and on the other hand the space around the brain, which is filled with cerebral fluid, comes into contact with the outside. This represents a high risk of infection. A classic sign of a skull fracture at the base or in the face is the so-called monocular hematoma, a bruise behind and around the eye.
A skull fracture in the area of the calotte involving the brain or nerves is accompanied by neurological symptoms. Patients complain of nausea, confusion and are disoriented. Many patients suffer from severe dizziness after a skull fracture.
In some cases, the affected persons appear emotionally changed, e.g. aggressive. Also the consciousness can be limited up to unconsciousness. In some cases, a fractured skull also causes isolated damage to individual nerves. For example, visual disturbances may occur when the optic nerve is involved, or facial paralysis may occur when the facial nerve is damaged.
