Skull Fractures A skull fracture is any break in the cranial bone, also known as the skull. There are many types of skull fractures, but only one major cause: an impact or a blow to the head that’s strong enough to break the bone. An injury to the brain can also accompany the fracture.
Causes of skull fractures:
A skull fracture occurs when a force that’s strong enough to break the bone hits the skull. Any type of impact to the head can cause a skull fracture. This includes being hit with an object, falling and hitting the ground, injuring the head in a car accident, or any other type of trauma.
Classification of Skull fractures:: (Saukko and Knight 2004);
Linear – straight or curved fracture lines, which may radiate from a depressed region, or occur at a distance from the impact site, and tend to occur at ‘unsupported’ regions of the skull (e.g. across the supra-orbital ridges). Linear fractures in children or young adults may pass through the suture lines (‘diastatic fracture’). ‘Hinge’ fractures occur when the linear fracture passes across the middle cranial fossa, separating the skull base into 2 halves, and may be caused by a heavy blow to the side of the head (e.g. in motorcycle accidents).
Ring – these occur in the posterior fossa around the foramen magnum, particularly following a fall from a height (with primary ‘feet first’ impact), where the kinetic energy transfer is transmitted up the cervical spine.
Pond – this is a shallow depressed fracture, more common in infants.
Mosaic (‘spider’s web’) – a comminuted depressed fracture with radiating fissures.
Depressed – a fracture caused by force applied in a ‘focussed’ area e.g. by a hammer. The outer and inner tables of the skull are driven inwards, often causing damage to the brain or its coverings. The shape of the fracture may indicate the type of weapon used.