Etiology

Pathology

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Subdural hematoma.

The bleeding is from bridging veins and is external to the brain. After cessation of bleeding, the resultant clot can slowly imbibe water, resulting in signs of increasing intracranial pressure.

(Reprinted with permission from Rubin R, Strayer D et al.: Rubin’s Clinicopathologic Foundations of Medicine, 6th ed. Baltimore, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012, Figure 28-16B, p. 1305.)

1.  
   The cause is venous bleeding, most often from bridging veins joining the cerebrum to venous sinuses within the dura.
2.  
   Clinical characteristics include gradual signs of cerebral compression occurring hours to days or even weeks after head injury; venous hemorrhage typically arrests early, but the volume of the hematoma gradually increases as a result of osmotic imbibing of water, resulting in a slowly enlarging tumor-like mass.