A cephalhematoma (American English) or cephalhaematoma (British English) is a hemorrhage of blood between the skull and the periosteum of a newborn baby. Because the swelling is subperiosteal its boundaries are limited by the individual bones, in contrast to a chignon. MedlinePlus (medlineplus. ... eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996. ... The Diseases Database is a free website that provides information about the relationships between medical conditions, symptoms, and medications. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... British English (BrE) is a term used to differentiate the form of the English language used in the United Kingdom from other forms of the English language used elsewhere. ... A subconjunctival hemorrhage is a common and relatively minor post-LASIK complication. ... Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ... A hippopotamus skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of Craniates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... The periosteum is an envelope of fibrous connective tissue that is wrapped around the bone in all places except at joints (which are protected by cartilage). ... A human infant The word infant derives from the Latin word in-fans, meaning unable to speak. It is commonly used as a slightly more formal word for baby (the youngest category of child). ... Subperiosteal means situated under the periosteum. ... A temporary swelling left on a babys head after a Ventouse has been used to deliver the baby. ...

Causes

The usual causes of a cephalhematoma are a prolonged second stage of labor or instrumental delivery, particularly ventouse. Ventouse is a vacuum device used to assist the delivery of a baby when labour has not progressed adequately. ...

Symptoms

If severe the child may develop jaundice, anemia or hypotension. In some cases it may be an indication of a linear skull fracture or be at risk of an infection leading to osteomyelitis or meningitis. Jaundice, also known as icterus (adjective:Icteric), is yellowing of the skin, sclera (the white of the eyes) and mucous membranes caused by increased levels of bilirubin in the human body. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ... In physiology and medicine, hypotension refers to an abnormally low blood pressure. ... For fractures in bones, see Fracture (bone). ... Osteomyelitis is an infection of bone, usually caused by pyogenic bacteria or mycobacteria. ... Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. ...

The swelling of a Cephalhematoma takes weeks to resolve as the blood clot is slowly absorbed from the periphery towards the centre so much so that in time as the swelling hardens with a relatively softer centre, it appears as a 'depressed fracture'.

Cephalhematoma should be distinguised from another scalp bleeding called Subgaleal hemorrahge which is blood between the scalp and skull bone (above the periosteum) and is more extensive. It is more prone to complications especially anemia and bruising.