CHRONIC SUBDURAL HEMATOMA

Abstract

Prior to the publication of Putnam and Cushing¹in 1925, great confusion prevailed as to the nomenclature and classification of hemorrhage beneath the envelops of the brain. Hemorrhage beneath the pia, arachnoid and dura and above the dura, as well as into the brain substance itself, was often loosely designated as pachymeningitis hemorrhagica or simply as intracranial hemorrhage. These authors brought order to a division of this chaotic literature by establishing hematomas between the dura and arachnoid as a definite clinical entity. Since their report, numerous studies and case reports have appeared in the literature. In the treatment for traumatic cases of the head, the prognosis often depends on the recognition of the exact abnormal condition present within the skull. For instance, it makes a great deal of difference in treatment whether there is a cerebral laceration or contusion, diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage or a clot beneath or above the