A hematoma is an abnormal collection of blood outside of a blood vessel, caused when the vessel wall is damaged and blood leaks into surrounding tissues. Trauma is the most common cause of hematomas. There are several types of hematomas named by their location, such as epidural (outside the dura of the brain), subdural (below the dura of the brain), intracerebral (within brain tissue), scalp (outside the skull), ear, septal (nose), intramuscular (within muscles), subungual (under fingernails/toenails), subcutaneous (under the skin), and intra-abdominal (within the abdomen). The severity of symptoms depends on the
2. What is hematoma?
A hematoma is an abnormal collection of blood outside of the blood vessel. It occurs because the wall of
the blood vessel, artery, vein, or capillary, has been damage and blood has leaked into tissues.
The hematoma may be tiny, with just a dot of blood, or it can be large and cause significant swelling.
Blood that escapes from within a blood vessel is very irritating to the surrounding tissue and may cause
symptoms of inflammation including pain, swelling, and redness.
3. What is the most common cause hematomas?
Trauma is the most common cause of a hematoma. When people think of trauma they generally think
accidents, falls, head injuries, broken bones. Trauma to tissue also may be caused by an aggressive sneeze
or an unexpected twist of an arm or leg.
When blood vessel id damage blood leaks into surrounding tissue this blood tends to coagulate or clot. The
greater the amount of bleeding that occurs, the larger the amount of clot hematoma formation.
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5. What are the types of hematoma?
epidural hematoma
Occur because of trauma often to the temple where the middle meningeal artery is located bleeding
accumulates in the epidural space outside the dura which is the lining of the brain. Because of the way the
dura is attached to the skull, small hematomas can cause significant pressure and brain injury.
Subdural hematoma
Also occur because of trauma but the injury is usually to the veins in the brain. This causes a slower leak of
blood which enters subdural space below the dura. The space below the dura has much more room for
blood to accumulate before brain function suffer.
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7. Intracerebral hematoma
Occur within the brain tissue itself intracerebral hematoma may be due to bleeding from uncontrolled high
blood pressure an aneurysm leak or rapture, trauma, tumor, or stroke.
scalp hematoma
Occur on the outside of the skull and often can be felt as a bump on the head. Because the injury is to the
skin and muscle layers outside of the skull the scalp hematoma itself cannot press on the brain.
Ear hematoma
May occur if any injury causes bleeding to the outside helix or cartilage structure of the ear. Often called
boxer’s ear becomes trapped between the thin layer of the skin and the cartilage itself.
Septal hematoma
Occur with nasal trauma. A septal hematoma may form associated with broken nose. If not recognized and
treated the cartilage can break down and cause a perforation of the septum.
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10. Intramuscular hematomas
can be very painful due to the amount of swelling and inflammation. Some muscles are surrounded by
tough bands of tissue. If enough bleeding occurs, the pressure within these compartments can increase to
the point that "compartment syndrome" can occur. In this situation, the blood supply of the muscle is
compromised and the muscle and other structures such as nerves can be permanently damaged. This is
most commonly seen in the lower leg and forearm.
Subungual hematomas
are the result of crush injuries to the fingers or toes. Bleeding from a subungual hematoma occurs under
the fingernail or toenail and since it is trapped, pressure builds causing pain. Trephination, or drilling a hole
through the nail to remove the blood clot, relieves the pressure and resolves the injury. Over time, the nail
repairs itself.
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12. Subcutaneous hematomas
are bruises and contusions of the skin (ecchymosis). These occur due to trauma or injuries to the superficial
blood vessels under the skin. Individuals who take anticoagulant medication are more prone to
subcutaneous hematomas.
Intra-abdominal hematomas
means bleeding within the abdomen (intra-abdominal cavity). There are multiple causes of intra-abdominal
hemorrhage. Some of the possible causes are trauma, ruptures of diseased blood vessels or organs,
tumors, aneurysms, pancreatitis, ectopic pregnancy, and complications of surgical procedures