ACUTE CEREBRAL INJURIES

Abstract

During the past decade, since the introduction of methods for cerebral dehydration, the treatment of acute cerebral injuries has become complicated. During this time there has been an increasing tendency in the diagnosis of such lesions for the physiologic reaction of the organism to intracerebral pressure to be superseded by mechanical measurement of intracerebral pressure. Treatment has been guided by the degree of spinal fluid pressure as recorded on the manometer without consideration of the natural defenses of the body or the manifestations that arise when these defenses have reached their limits. Cerebral tissue that is already traumatized has been further insulted by chemical solutions or by intermittent shifts in pressure produced by drainage of the spinal fluid. Finally, the current classifications of these injuries are open to the criticism that they cannot accurately convey the extent of intracerebral damage or aid in most instances in the treatment of the