Trauma Nurse Core Course (TNCC) Practice Exam

Tearing of the bridging veins is most frequently associated with which brain injury?

1. Epidural hematoma

2. Subdural hematoma

3. Diffuse axonal injury

4. Intracerebral hematoma

The correct answer is: Subdural hematoma

Tearing of the bridging veins is most commonly associated with subdural hematomas. This type of hematoma occurs when there is a sudden deceleration or acceleration of the head, causing the brain to move within the skull and resulting in the tearing of these veins. As the bridging veins traverse from the surface of the brain to the dural sinuses, they are particularly vulnerable to shearing forces during trauma. Subdural hematomas are typically associated with less forceful impacts than those required to cause other types of hematomas, such as epidural hematomas, which are often linked to arterial bleeding due to skull fractures, or intracerebral hematomas, which involve bleeding within the brain tissue itself. Diffuse axonal injury, while also a significant brain injury, is characterized by widespread damage to nerve fibers and is associated with rotational forces rather than directly causing vascular tear injuries like bridging veins. Understanding the mechanisms behind these different injuries is crucial for trauma assessment and management.