Racoon Eyes are a sign of basilar skull fracture.

Racoon Eyes are a sign of basilar skull fracture.

• A. Racoon Eyes
• B. Halo Sign
• C. Hemotympanum
• D. Battle Sign

Answer: (A)

Raccoon eyes arise from bruising around the eyes after trauma to the base of the skull. Blood tracks into the periorbital tissues, creating the distinctive periorbital ecchymosis that’s classically linked to basilar skull fractures. This sign often appears with other base-skull findings like Battle sign (bruising behind the ear) or hemotympanum (blood behind the eardrum), and it can accompany CSF leakage. The halo sign points to CSF leakage around nasal discharge, which also indicates skull-base injury but isn’t as classic a clue to a basilar fracture as raccoon eyes. So, the periorbital bruising is the best-fitting sign for basilar skull fracture among these findings.

Raccoon eyes arise from bruising around the eyes after trauma to the base of the skull. Blood tracks into the periorbital tissues, creating the distinctive periorbital ecchymosis that’s classically linked to basilar skull fractures. This sign often appears with other base-skull findings like Battle sign (bruising behind the ear) or hemotympanum (blood behind the eardrum), and it can accompany CSF leakage. The halo sign points to CSF leakage around nasal discharge, which also indicates skull-base injury but isn’t as classic a clue to a basilar fracture as raccoon eyes. So, the periorbital bruising is the best-fitting sign for basilar skull fracture among these findings.