What type of hemorrhage is usually associated with lucid intervals?

Epidural hemorrhage is typically characterized by lucid intervals due to the nature of the injury and the subsequent bleeding. This type of hemorrhage often occurs between the outer membrane covering the brain (dura mater) and the skull, usually as a result of trauma, such as a skull fracture.

In the initial stages after the injury, a patient may lose consciousness but then regain it for a brief period, exhibiting the "lucid interval" before experiencing a rapid decline in their neurological status as pressure builds up from the accumulating blood. This cycle occurs because the epidural hematoma can expand quickly, leading to increased intracranial pressure, which ultimately causes loss of consciousness again.

In contrast, other types of hemorrhages, such as subdural, subarachnoid, and intracerebral hemorrhages, typically present with different patterns of symptomatology that do not include this specific lucidity followed by deterioration. For example, subdural hemorrhages often develop more gradually and can lead to altered consciousness without distinct lucid intervals.

Thus, epidural hemorrhage is the type associated with these episodic lucid intervals, making it identifiable in clinical assessments following head injury.