contrecoup

[ kon-truh-koo; French kawntruh-koo ]

noun

, Medicine/Medical.

1. an injury of one point of an organ or part resulting from a blow on the opposite point.

Word History and Origins

Origin of contrecoup¹

From the French word contre-coup, dating back to 1820–30. See counter-, coup ¹

Example Sentences

Frequently, aphasia follows a stroke, but it can also result from a traumatic brain injury; in my case, I suffered a “coup contrecoup injury with diffuse axonal shearing of the brain” — and, consequently, aphasia — when a drunk driver plowed into a parked car that I was sitting in one Tuesday morning in 2006.

From Washington Post

"Together, these results reveal that the heads of woodpeckers function as stiff hammers during pecking," the researchers conclude, later adding that "the zones of spongy bone at both the coup and contrecoup side of the braincase... probably serves an important role in 'resisting' impact forces without failing rather than 'absorbing' impact energy by elastic deforming."

From Salon

She sustained a traumatic brain injury which resulted in a subdural haematoma and a left temporal contrecoup injury.

From The Guardian

It’s known as a contrecoup brain injury.

From Washington Times

A scan of Mr. Gindy’s brain showed bruises on the opposite side of his head from the original blow — a pattern known as a contrecoup, the doctors said, that indicated his head had been bashed against a hard surface like a floor or a wall.

From New York Times