Source: Definition of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Developed by the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of the Head Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
J Head Trauma Rehabil 1993:8(3):86-87
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Diffuse axonal injury can occur without any direct impact on the head, as it requires only the condition of rapid acceleration/deceleration such as takes place in whiplash injuries due to acceleration/deceleration resulting in rapid flexion-extension movement of the neck.
However, the likelihood of significant diffuse axonal injury increases when the head hits something, such as a windshield, as the change in momentum is greater because of the sudden stopping of the head. But in a shearing mechanism, it is not the contact phenomenon which cause the injury, but the change in momentum.
The axons within the brain are long thin nerve fibers that may extend across different layers of the brain, from example the cerebral cortex (the gray matter - on the outside of the brain) to the subcortical region (the white matter - deep inside the brain.) As these different layers of the brain have different densities (weight), and are located at varying distances from the center of a given rotation, they will be accelerated and decelerated at different speeds when a whiplash mechanism occurs. This results in different layers of the brain, sliding across each other, which can put unnatural stress on the axons, which extend across these layers.
This sliding of brain tissue, is illustrated by the next two graphics:
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subtlebraininjury.com is a website with a mission to educate with respect to the magnitude of brain injury which does not involve coma - injuries that have been labeled by names which grossly minimize their potential impact upon the life of the injured person. This site is brought to you by the advocates of the Brain Injury Law Group, a community of plaintiff's trial lawyers across the United States united by a common interest in serving the rights of persons with traumatic brain injuries and a common commitment to fully understanding the anatomic, medical and psychological aspects of TBI.
Additional Information
For a full treatment of the topic of brain injury, and recovering adequate compensation for those who have survived such injury, please visit our other pages. tbilaw.com A general treatment of all types of brain injury, including severe brain injury and concussion, with a special focus on the legal aspects of recovering full and adequate compensation for such injuries. tbilaw.com has been at the cornerstone of the web advocacy of the Brain Injury Law Group since it went online in 1996. waiting.com A page designed to assist those with issues regarding coma, especially in the acute phase when the doctors are saying "I just don't know." vestibulardisorder.com Addressing vertigo and dizziness resulting from trauma as well as information and resources for vestibular disorders.
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