Traumatic Brain Injury - How is it caused?

The damage may be caused by the head forcefully hitting an object, such as when hitting a windshield, or the dashboard of a car (closed head injury) or by something passing through the skull and piercing the brain, such as a bullet or knife wound to the head (penetrating head injury). Closed head injury is also experienced without direct penetration of the skull or external trauma when the brain undergoes a severe forward or backward shaking or twisting, such as the shaken baby syndrome or a whiplash. The difference between the two is substantial since the first often will leave no obvious external signs and yet can cause more widespread damage.