Human skull has two major anatomical parts, neurocranium and splanchnocranium. The neurocranium is the portion of the skull that protects the brain and certain sense organs.
The splanchnocranium (or visceral skeleton) is the portion of cartilage and endochondral bone [1]. The facial skeleton is sometimes called the membranous viscerocranium, which comprises the mandible and dermatocranial elements that are not part of the braincase.
The mechanism of injury in head trauma could be due to falling down, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, physical fights, child abuse and playground accidents [2].
The severity of head soft tissues injuries could be divided into abrasions, contusions, lacerations and finally avulsion injuries [3].
Severe head trauma is less common in younger children than in adolescents and adults, because they are under adult supervision. Although falls from low heights are frequent but less injuries sustained due to their small body and low speed of the fall. These low- impact forces can usually be absorbed by their well-padded skin, elastic skeleton and cartilaginous growth centres [1, 3].
After 5-7 years of age, rapid progression of neuromotor development results in desire of independent activities especially outside home with less adult supervision [3].
The Craniofacial growth leads to changes in anatomy. In the first years of life, the cranium keeps up with the brains rapid pace growth and results in a relatively large and prominent forehead. Ocular globes develops quite fast early in life and join the forehead in their relative prominence. This is noticeable also in lack of paranasal sinus and in limited vertical facial height, horizontal projection, and transverse width of the maxillomandibular region. These elements result in a high skull-face ratio, making the frontal and upper orbital region more open to trauma while the lower face remains relatively protected [4].
Head injury can be closed or open also called (penetrating). A closed head injury means that a hard blow to the head from striking an object, but the object did not break the skull and sometimes causes only soft tissue injury of scalp. An open, or penetrating, head injury means you were hit with an object that broke the skull and entered the brain. This is more likely to happen when you move at high speed, such as going through the windshield during a car accident. It can also happen from a gunshot to the head [5].
Head injuries include: Concussion, in which the brain CSF is shaken, and is the most common type of traumatic brain injury, Scalp wounds, and Skull fractures [5].
Head injuries may cause bleeding in the brain tissue in the layers that surrounds the brain and divided into subarachnoid haemorrhage, subdural hematoma and extradural hematoma. Head injury is a common reason for an emergency room attendance. A large number of people who suffer head injuries are in fact children [5].