Assignment task: Subdural Hematoma
The body of a 20-year-old man was being examined by a hospital pathologist to determine the cause of death. He had been taken to the emergency room after being found not breathing at the base of a cliff popular with rock climbers. Bleeding over the occipital region of his scalp led the pathologist to hypothesize that he had slipped and fallen while climbing and had hit the back of his head on a rock. The pathologist noted a large subdural hematoma above the right frontal lobe of the man's brain. In addition, he saw that the brain had shifted due to the extensive bleeding, so that the medulla oblongata had been pushed inferiorly (herniated) through the foramen magnum into the vertebral canal. He determined that a subdural hematoma resulting from traumatic brain injury had caused the man's death.
1. Explain why the subdural hematoma was found in the frontal region of the brain, when the blow to the head occurred over the occipital region.
2. How did the herniation of the medulla oblongata into the vertebral canal affect brain function and contribute to the man's death?