Mechanism is not the same as a picture

Acceleration, deceleration, and rotation can disturb how brain systems work. Coup describes effects near the impact site; contrecoup describes effects on the opposite side after rebound. These are mechanisms, not a diagnosis from a diagram.

Use careful language. A normal scan does not prove that symptoms are imaginary, and a symptom is not by itself proof of a particular mechanism. The clinical record supplies the context.

What belongs in the first record

  • What happened and what part of the head or body moved.
  • What was noticed immediately and what appeared later.
  • What activity, school, work, driving, or sleep changed afterward.