An epidural hematoma is defined as?

• A. Blood collection between skull & dura mater due to tearing of meningeal vessels
• B. Blood collection within brain tissue
• C. Blood collection between dura and arachnoid
• D. Bleeding from scalp only

Answer: (A)

Epidural hematoma is a bleed that collects between the skull and the dura mater, usually caused by tearing of a meningeal artery after head trauma. This specific location—between the skull and the dura—and the arterial source explain why this is the correct definition: it results from trauma-driven arterial bleeding that pushes the dura away from the skull.

Clinically, it’s often tied to a skull fracture (especially of the temporal bone) and can follow a brief loss of consciousness with a later return of alertness (a lucid interval) before rapid deterioration. On imaging, it commonly appears as a lens-shaped (biconvex) collection that does not cross suture lines, consistent with confinement between skull and dura.

The other descriptions describe different types of hemorrhages: blood within brain tissue is an intracerebral hemorrhage; blood between the dura and arachnoid is a subdural hematoma; and bleeding from the scalp is extracranial, not an intracranial hematoma.