Axonal injury in head injury.
A histological analysis of 324 unselected fatal head injuries disclosed axonal injury in the form of retraction balls in 100 cases: this was severe in 64 and mild in 36. It is suggested that axonal injury exists as a spectrum without there necessarily being selective involvement of the corpus callosum or the rostral brain stem, and that cases with mild axonal injury may be unconscious for only a short time after their injury.
D001369:Axons; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000293:injuries; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000293:injuries; D006801:Humans