What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The term "traumatic brain injury" is very broad and includes a large number injuries to the brain. A helpful definition, for purposes of general understanding, can be found at waiting.com and reads as follows:
Brain Injury, Traumatic - Damage to living brain tissue caused by an external mechanical force. It is usually characterized by a period of altered consciousness ( amnesia or coma) that can be very brief (minutes) or very long (months/indefinitely). The specific disabling condition(s) may be orthopedic, visual, aural, neurologic, perceptive/cognitive, or mental/emotional in nature. The term does not include brain injuries that are caused by insufficient blood supply, toxic substances, malignancy, disease-producing organisms, congenital disorders, birth trauma or degenerative processes.
