Causes of Brain Injuries

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is any type of sudden injury that causes temporary or permanent damage to the brain.  ABI can be divided into two categories:

Traumatic:  resulting from an external force applied to the head/brain (e.g., damage that is associated with some kind
of trauma to the head, such as a concussion, a fall, or a motor vehicle collision is known as a traumatic brain injury.)

Non-Traumatic: resulting from an internal source that inflicts injury to the brain (e.g., anoxia [near drowning], toxicity,
infection, or cerebral vascular accident [stroke]).

The following chart provides examples of the most common causes of ABI.

Traumatic
Blow to the head	- Motor vehicle accidents - Assault with an object - Shaken baby syndrome
Falling or tumbling	- Falling off a bicycle, tree, climbing equipment or furniture - Sports Injuries
Non-Traumatic
Anoxic injuries (Lack of oxygen to the brain)	- Near drowning - Suffocation - Choking
Vascular injuries (Disruption in blood supply to the brain)	- Stroke (blocked blood vessel in the brain) - Aneurysm (broken blood vessel in the brain)
Inhalation of ingestion of toxic substances	- Sniffing glue, paint, or carbon monoxide - Drug use
Infectious diseases	- Meningitis - Encephalitis

All information on this page is copied from Educating Educators About ABI Resource Book
Produced by: Brock University & the Ontario Brain Injury Association
Funded by: Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation