The emergency department nurse assesses a client involved in a motor vehicle accident who sustained a coup-contrecoup head injury. Which assessment finding is consistent with injury to the occipital lobe?

Question

The emergency department nurse assesses a client involved in a motor vehicle accident who sustained a coup-contrecoup head injury.  Which assessment finding is consistent with injury to the occipital lobe?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecbb05_ca36_0093_b433_1dbd4e8866aa_MD0009_00 A coup-contrecoup head injury occurs when the head strikes an object and the brain receives an injury under the area of impact (coup), after which it rebounds to the opposite side of the skull and sustains injury on that side as well (contrecoup). This type of injury is common in motor vehicle accidents and shaken baby syndrome. Visual processing occurs in the occipital lobe. (Option A) The rate and depth of respirations are regulated by the medulla oblongata at the base of the brainstem. (Option C) Expressive aphasia, the inability to express spoken words, occurs after a transient ischemic attack or stroke. This will occur if the frontal lobe (Broca aphasia) or temporal lobe (Wernicke aphasia) is injured. (Option D) Inability to recognize being touched is indicative of injury to the parietal lobe of the brain. Educational objective: Coup-contrecoup head injuries are common in motor vehicle accidents and shaken baby syndrome. Damage to the occipital lobe of the brain during coup-contrecoup head injury will result in visual disturbances.

The Emergency Department Nurse Assesses a Client Involved in a Motor