[The shaken baby syndrome]

The shaken baby syndrome is caused by a violent jerk or shaking of a child's or infant's head; on some occasions this syndrome is defined as a form of child abuse. This relatively unknown syndrome can produce multiple lesions in the victim; these lesions are not evident externally in the majority of cases. The authors have reviewed numerous articles so that they can define this syndrome's basic characteristics which bear much weight in the early detection of this syndrome and moreover on adequate prevention of this syndrome by health professionals since this syndrome may cause grave and permanent repercussions in the child which undergoes it.