basal skull fracture

ba·sal skull frac·ture

a fracture involving the base of the cranium.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

basal skull fracture

A fracture involving the bones of the base of the skull, the so-called  facial skeleton or viscerocranium.

Clinical findings
May be asymptomatic; symptomatic findings include raccoon eyes, Battle sign, haemotympanum, CSF rhinorrhoea.
 
Imaging
Plain skull film may not reveal fracture; CT or MRI is more reliable.

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

basal skull fracture

Orthopedics A fracture involving the base of the cranium Clinical May be asymptomatic; raccoon eyes, Battle sign, hemotympanum, CSF rhinorrhea Imaging Plain skull film may not reveal fracture; CT or MRI is more reliable. See LeFort fracture.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.