Etymed
epidural hematoma
Definition
A collection of blood between the dura mater and the skull, typically caused by trauma
Clinical context
A 25-year-old male presents to the emergency department after being struck in the head with a baseball bat during a game. He initially lost consciousness for a few minutes, then regained consciousness and seemed alert. However, he begins to deteriorate rapidly with worsening headache and altered mental status. On examination, he is found to have a lucid interval followed by rapid neurological decline. CT scan reveals a biconvex-shaped hematoma beneath the dura mater compressing the brain parenchyma.
Mnemonic
Dura mater is the 'dura' - think 'dura mater' = 'dura' = 'dura' = 'dura' = 'dura'