Which term describes brain injury that occurs when the moving head is suddenly slowed or stopped by impact?

Which term describes brain injury that occurs when the moving head is suddenly slowed or stopped by impact?

• A. Diffusion axonal injury
• B. Coup injury
• C. Deceleration injury
• D. Contrecoup injury

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is the mechanism of injury: when a moving head is suddenly slowed or stopped by impact, the brain inside the skull tends to keep moving due to inertia, causing it to hit the inner skull and experience rapid forces. This pattern is described as a deceleration injury because the injury results from the abrupt reduction in velocity of the head. Coup injuries describe damage at the site of impact, and contrecoup injuries occur on the opposite side due to rebound, both of which are focal outcomes of contact rather than the general stopping event. Diffusion axonal injury involves widespread tearing of axons from shear forces during rapid acceleration-deceleration, but the prompt specifically highlights the stopping event itself, making deceleration injury the best fit. In short, the rapid stop of head movement from impact drives the deceleration mechanism behind this injury.

The main idea here is the mechanism of injury: when a moving head is suddenly slowed or stopped by impact, the brain inside the skull tends to keep moving due to inertia, causing it to hit the inner skull and experience rapid forces. This pattern is described as a deceleration injury because the injury results from the abrupt reduction in velocity of the head. Coup injuries describe damage at the site of impact, and contrecoup injuries occur on the opposite side due to rebound, both of which are focal outcomes of contact rather than the general stopping event. Diffusion axonal injury involves widespread tearing of axons from shear forces during rapid acceleration-deceleration, but the prompt specifically highlights the stopping event itself, making deceleration injury the best fit. In short, the rapid stop of head movement from impact drives the deceleration mechanism behind this injury.