What are intracranial hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage, and hemorrhagic stroke?
An intracranial hemorrhage is a type of bleeding that occurs inside the skull (cranium). Bleeding around or within the brain itself is known as a cerebral hemorrhage (or intracerebral hemorrhage). Bleeding caused by a blood vessel in the brain that has leaked or ruptured (torn) is called a hemorrhagic stroke. (All bleeding within the skull is referred to as intracranial hemorrhage.) Hemorrhages that occur within the skull or brain generally happen suddenly, from either external or internal causes. A hemorrhage can rapidly cause brain and nerve damage and can be life-threatening. Since the brain cannot store oxygen, it relies upon a series of blood vessels to supply oxygen and nutrients. The pooling of blood from an intracranial hemorrhage or cerebral hemorrhage puts pressure on the brain and deprives it of oxygen. When a hemorrhage or stroke interrupts blood flow around or inside the brain, depriving it of oxygen for more than three or four minutes, the brain cells die. Furthermore, th
