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bones or to survey the brain for possible injury.

A basilar skull fracture results from severe blunt head trauma of a substantial force. Basilar skull fractures often affect sinus cavities and with these injuries, fluid and air has been known to enter the skull and lead to infection.

Facial fractures involve damage to or dislocation of the nose, jaw, cheekbone, and eye socket. These injuries can be as serious as skull fractures and can cause pain, swelling, bruising, and tenderness. Problems or unusual circumstances involving seeing, hearing, breathing, and sensation can imply serious injury.

Spinal injuries

The spine is connected to the head and brain by bone contact and the fact that the spine protects a large bunch of nerves directly leading from the brain (the spinal cord).

A fractured vertebrae (or more generally, a spinal fracture) must be checked out if suspected. Symptoms vary, ranging from back pain to bowel incontinence.

Sometimes a fractured vertebrae can lead to a herniated cervical disc. This happens when the shock-absorbing cushions that surrounds the discs of the spine bulge or rip open due to damage. Herniated cervical discs mostly happen in the neck and lumbar regions of the spine. Symptoms include pain in the neck, numbness or weakness in the upper body, and unusual tingling.

Know the signs!

Brain and head injuries are not always obvious, but you and your medical professional can search for signs that injury has taken place. Besides the obvious physical demarcations (e.g. bruising, blood, swelling), events such as a concussion, loss of consciousness, post-traumatic amnesia, and a seizure also point to possible brain injury.

Additional symptoms that could point at brain injury are headache, nausea, vision changes, numbness, loss of coordination, and back pain.

A medical professional may do basic neurologic tests (such as "How many fingers do you see?") to determine if further testing is required. If so, CT scan, MRI, or other imaging devices may be used to come up with a specific diagnosis. Spinal and lumbar taps are used for spinal injuries.

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