Brain Injury Terminology

noun a punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence or separating items in a list

• The patient remained in a coma for several weeks after the accident.
• I heard that she was in a coma for a while, but thankfully she's awake now.
• Dude, I was in a coma after that party last night.
• The economy has been in a coma for the past few months, but it's finally starting to show signs of improvement.

noun a type of traumatic brain injury that occurs when the brain rapidly shifts inside the skull as a result of sudden acceleration or deceleration, causing widespread damage to the brain's axons

• Diffuse axonal injury is a type of traumatic brain injury that is characterized by widespread damage to the brain's white matter.
• I heard that diffuse axonal injury is a serious condition that can result from a car accident.
• Man, that diffuse axonal injury sounds like a real brain buster.
• Dealing with that problem was like navigating through a maze of diffuse axonal injury.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. In this case, 'injuries' is a noun referring to physical harm or damage to the body.

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun. In this case, 'acquired' is an adjective describing the type of brain injuries being discussed.

• Individuals with acquired brain injuries may require long-term rehabilitation.
• People who have acquired brain injuries might need a lot of help to recover.
• Those with brain injuries they got later in life may need serious rehab.
• Acquired brain injuries can be like a storm that changes everything in an instant.

noun a brain injury that occurs after birth, usually as a result of trauma or illness

• An acquired brain injury can result from a traumatic event such as a car accident.
• My friend's brother suffered an acquired brain injury after falling off his bike.
• Dude, I heard Jake got messed up and ended up with an acquired brain injury.
• Dealing with that difficult situation was like navigating through an acquired brain injury.