Cerebrovascular trauma

Vascular injury of the head and neck region is a rare and often life-threatening complication of head or neck trauma and is due to two major pathomechanisms: penetrating or blunt trauma. Both the arterial and the venous site of the CNS vasculature can be involved, the latter one being often overlooked. Concerning arterial lesions, depending on how many layers of the arterial vessel are affected and on the spatial relationship to adjacent structures, dissections, false aneurysms or arteriovenous fistulae may develop. On the venous side, dural tears, compressive effects on pial veins and a deranged clotting system may lead to delayed venous thrombosis. In this review we describe clinical and imaging findings, as well as diagnostic and treatment strategies in these lesions.