What's the difference between subdural hemorrhage and subdural hematoma? How to tell the difference in a MRI scan?
Hematoma is a clotting of blood, in this case in the subdural region of the brain. Hemorrhage refers to an uncontrolled, acute bleed that is not clotting and will begin to increase ICP. Depending on the size/location of the hemorrhage, the brain stem is pushed out through the only opening, foramen magnum. This compression of the lower part of the brain stem presents with abnormal posturing, anisocoria, and ataxic respiration’s. Eventually this will cascade to brain damage, respiratory arrest and ending with cardiac arrest. So hemorrhage is usually associated with a TBI, such as from a fall or motor vehicle accident - while hematomas are more localized and there is no rapid increasing of pressure apart from initial incident. These words are used interchangeably but I would say hematoma is “chronic”;hemorrhage is “acute”.
It surely does. But the confusion lies in the fact that hematoma and hemorrhage are used so interchangeably when they are really distinct phenomena. A hematoma would cause an increase in ICP but gradually as the blood is coagulating and potentially occluding the source of the bleed. From my understanding, a hemorrhagic insult is a like a torrential bleed (from an artery perhaps) that would spike the ICP much more rapidly.
Hemorrhage just means blood loss; it can be external or internal. Hematoma is an enclosed hemorrhage into a tissue space, whether subdural, epidural, or into a joint capsule.
