Head Trauma: Etiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Manifestation, and Biomarkers

Head trauma often results in traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality among children and young adults in the United States of America. Head trauma is most common because of motor vehicle-related injuries, falls, and assaults. These injuries have both short- and long-term sequelae that affect roughly 5.3 million Americans per year and result in a heavy economic burden estimated at $37.8 billion per year (Matney et al., Traumatic brain injury: a roadmap for accelerating progress, National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2022). While the mechanisms of the primary insult are understood in depth, the long-term effects due to secondary brain injury are currently being widely studied. Due to the vast economic and social impact of head trauma, much effort by healthcare systems and researchers is being carried out to understand the pathophysiology, to develop treatments, and to enact preventative actions to reduce the global burden of the traumatic injuries to the head. These endeavors have resulted in an overall reduced deaths and TBI-related hospitalizations. In this contemporary chapter, we dissect different etiologies and the pathophysiology of brain injury that result from head trauma. In addition, we address the modern diagnostic techniques, treatments, and current traumatic brain injury research.