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A lucid interval is a period of time that a person with a head injury is conscious, after being
knocked unconscious due to an impact. The interval lasts until they fall unconscious again.
Unconsciousness follows, because during the interval, blood builds up on the brain causing
extreme pressures on the brain tissue. A lucid interval ends with these pressures becoming so
great that the person loses consciousness. They are at great risk of death if medical
intervention is not quickly obtained.
For a lucid interval to occur, a person suffers a head injury, for example, a blow to the head.
They are knocked unconscious for a few minutes and then awaken. Having suffered the
injury, the person may be totally unaware of the seriousness of their condition. Awake and
functioning normally, perhaps with a sore head that they associate with the knock they have
received, they have an epidural hematoma progressing as minutes or hours go by.
Epidural hematoma is a bleed on the brain, where blood accumulates between the skull and
the dura mater. The dura mater is a tough membrane covering the brain. Blood continues to
build up, while the person is unaware of their condition.
The lucid interval is the interval or period of time that the injured person is lucid or
conscious, and in many cases continuing to function relatively normally, before the effects of
the epidural hematoma cause unconsciousness again. Blood continues to build up within the
skull during the interval, until the pressure and compression force on the brain becomes so
great that they lose consciousness. They are at risk of dying if medical help is not urgently
obtained.
It is of vital importance to seek medical help after a head injury occurs, even if the injured
person seems well. A lucid interval can create the illusion that the injured person has
recovered, when in fact their condition is worsening. The effects of alcohol can also mask any
symptoms of the epidural hematoma, such as head pain and nausea.
Under the supervision of a medical professional, the injured person is examined for head
injury. A lucid interval may be occurring or the patient may be genuinely well, however the
medical professional will perform tests such as an eye exam or brain scan, to look for
symptoms. The patient usually undergoes a period of observation following the examination,
to make certain that they are well. Having an epidural hematoma is fatal to 15 to 20% of
people who suffer from it.
The key findings were that if an adequate area of dura is separated from the skull (in
dogs, only an area 68 mm in diameter), then the arterial pressure from a ruptured
middle meningeal artery has adequate force to effect further loosening of the dura
from the skull.
The epidural space of course exists only when trauma has loosened the dura from
the inside of the skull, so this arteriovenous shunt exists only in the presence of dural
separationin other words, in the presence of an epidural bleed.

The shunt was shown to have a huge absorption capacity. It was suggested that the
presence of such a shunt would contribute to the lucid interval. In the normal way of
things, a rise in intracranial pressure due to the increasing volume of a hematoma
would slow down the bleeding promoting hemostasis. The shunt would permit
ongoing bleeding while delaying the increase in hematoma volume and hence the
development of clinical symptoms. The existence of arteriovenous shunting further
suggests that it is unlikely the blood in an epidural bleed comes from a venous
source, since the veins can hardly both bleed into and drain the epidural space.