This paper reviews aspects of head injury management and research in the Un
ited Kingdom (UK). We discuss evidence about the scale and etiology of head
injury in Britain and how this information has supported a triage-based ap
proach, incorporating risk analysis. A Cohesive organization based upon nat
ionally accepted, yet regionally flexible head injury management guidelines
is important. Research in the United Kingdom has clarified the effect of h
ead injury on the brain and how this can be reduced. This clarification fol
lows from improved understanding of the neurobiology of injury, of secondar
y damage and recovery, and information gained from new techniques aimed at
investigating events in patients. Outcome is an important perspective and w
e highlight the increasing focus upon recovery and the extent of disability
after so called mild head injury. Although we retain a UK perspective, com
parisons with aspects of European head injury emphasize the increasing impo
rtance of an international approach in the future.