ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the important topic of non-accidental head injury in the infant and child. The majority of incidences of accidental head injury in the paediatric age group arise as a result of motor vehicle accidents, including occupants as well as pedestrians and cyclists. Various terms have been used for intentionally inflicted head injury, including non-accidental injury (NAI), shaken baby syndrome and more recently abusive head trauma (AHT). Protocols have been developed for the post-mortem investigation of paediatric head injury. The investigation starts with as much history as possible. The classic picture of the battered child appears less often and presents less diagnostic difficulty than an isolated head injury. Care should be taken in interpretation of subscalp bruising in the very young infant, particularly with a history of instrumental delivery, which may show cephalohaematomas or subgaleal haemorrhage. Skull fractures are frequent in inflicted head injury.
