ABSTRACT
Specific regions of the body may be particularly susceptible to types of trauma that may not cause serious or fatal injury elsewhere. Consideration of patterns of injuries according to the body region, and the potential complications of those injuries, is therefore a relevant component in both the clinical and pathological evaluation of trauma. Injury to the vascular scalp can lead to seemingly dramatic haemorrhage which can usually be stopped by local application of pressure but, in some circumstances, can lead to physiological shock and death. Bleeding scalp injuries can continue to ooze after death, particularly when the head is in a dependent position. The skeleton of the human head is divided into three main parts: the mandible, the facial skeleton and the closed container that contains the brain – the calvarium. The calvarium is made up of eight plates of bone, each of varying thickness, with buttresses passing through and across the bony margins.
