Acquired brain injury (ABI) is best defined as brain injury occurring after birth, excluding genetic and degenerative diseases.

• A. Brain injury occurring after birth, excluding genetic and degenerative diseases.
• B. Brain injury present at birth.
• C. Brain injury caused by congenital anomalies.
• D. Brain injury due to genetic degenerative diseases.

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is what counts as an acquired brain injury: it is brain damage that happens after birth, and it does not include injuries present from birth or those caused by genetic or degenerative diseases. This definition distinguishes ABI from congenital or perinatal brain injuries, and from brain conditions that arise from hereditary or progressive diseases. That’s why the statement that ABI is brain injury occurring after birth, excluding genetic and degenerative diseases, matches the standard understanding. It also helps explain why injuries from events like trauma, stroke, infection, or hypoxic incidents after birth fit under ABI, whereas conditions present at birth or due to inherited disorders do not.