[Chiasma injury following skull trauma (author's transl)].

After a discussion of the pathomechanism of frontobasal cranial injury with a consecutive chiasmal lesion and diabetes insipidus due to a fracture of the basis of the skull, a personal observation of bitemporal hemianopia with a transient diabetes insipidus after a frontal motorcycle crash is recorded. A short survey of the literature shows the controversial opinions on traumatogenic lesions of the chiasma, which may be injured directly or the bitemporal hemianopia is due to a posttraumatic vascular disturbance. For the case described by the author primary tearing of the chiasma due to sudden applanation of the skull in the frontal region with burstfractures in the anterior cranial fossa is assumed.