[Significance of morphological changes in the middle meningeal arteries in the development of epidural hematomas after mild cerebro-cranial injury].

Among 58 patients with epidural hematomas in 8 cases they developed following a light cerebro-cranial injury with no fractured cranial bones. In 26 patients who died of diverse causes a histological examination of median meningeal arteries disclosed the presence of focal elastofibrosis, atrophy of the central layer, deposition of lime, cleavage of the elastic membrane, atherosclerosis, thrombogenesis, acute inflammatory process, formation of non-traumatic sacular and arterio-venous aneurysm. These alterations, especially the sacular and arterio-venous aneurysms, may be causative of blood effusion into the epidural space and lead to the development of hematomas following a slight injury of the head.