Question

Which one of the following is NOT associated with Cephalhematoma?

• A. Swelling is present at birth
• B. Usually involves parietal and occipital bone
• C. Bleeding is subperiosteal
• D. Usually reabsorbed in 2-3 months

Hint:

Remember that a cephalhematoma is blocked by the suture line and stays within one bone.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

A cephalhematoma is a pool of blood trapped under the periosteum of a single skull bone after birth trauma. Since the periosteum is glued down tight at every suture line, the swelling cannot spread past a suture. Let's use this to check each option.

1. Swelling is present at birth: This matches the usual clinical picture of a cephalhematoma being noticed as a lump on the scalp.
2. Usually involves parietal and occipital bone: This does not fit. The bleeding is trapped by the suture line, so it almost always stays within one single bone, usually just one parietal bone, rather than spreading across the parietal and occipital bones together.
3. Bleeding is subperiosteal: This is exactly what defines a cephalhematoma, blood collecting between the bone and its covering periosteum.
4. Usually reabsorbed in 2-3 months: This matches the typical slow natural resolution of this swelling as the trapped blood gets reabsorbed.

Because the suture line always confines the bleeding to one bone, saying it usually involves two bones together does not fit the known behavior of a cephalhematoma.

Let's summarize:

• A cephalhematoma stays confined by the suture line and does not cross it.
• It is normally limited to one single bone, not spread across the parietal and occipital bones.

So the statement not associated with cephalhematoma is that it usually involves the parietal and occipital bone together.