Occurs when the integrity of any tissue is compromised (e.g. skin breaks, muscle tears, burns, or bone fractures).
May be caused by an act, such as a gunshot, fall, or surgical procedure; by an infectious disease; or by an underlying condition.
8 Categories of Acute Wounds
Generally used by emergency personnel & first aid workers.
Abrasions. Also called scrapes, they occur when the skin is rubbed away by friction against another rough surface (e.g. rope burns and skinned knees).
Avulsions. These occur when an entire structure or part of it is forcibly pulled away, such as the loss of a permanent tooth or an ear lobe. Explosions, gunshots, and animal bites may cause avulsions.
Contusions. Also called bruises, these are the result of a forceful trauma that injures an internal structure without breaking the skin. Blows to the chest, abdomen, or head with a blunt instrument (e.g., a football or a fist) can cause contusions.
Crush wounds. Occur when a heavy object falls onto a person, splitting the skin and shattering or tearing underlying structures.
Cuts. Slicing wounds made with a sharp instrument, leaving even edges. They may be as minimal as a paper cut or as significant as a surgical incision.
Lacerations. Also called tears, these are separating wounds that produce ragged edges. They are produced by a tremendous force against the body, either from an internal source as in childbirth, or from an external source like a punch.
Missile wounds. Also called velocity wounds, they are caused by an object entering the body at a high speed, typically a bullet.
Punctures. These are deep, narrow wounds produced by sharp objects such as nails, knives, and broken glass.
Include localized pain and bleeding.
An abrasion usually appears as lines of scraped skin with tiny spots of bleeding.
An avulsion has heavy, rapid bleeding and a noticeable absence of tissue.
A contusion may appear as a bruise beneath the skin or may appear only on imaging tests. An internal wound may also generate symptoms such as weakness, perspiration, and pain.
A crush wound may have irregular margins like a laceration; however, the wound will be deeper and trauma to muscle and bone may be apparent.
A cut may have little or profuse bleeding depending on its depth and length; its even edges readily line up.
A laceration may have little or profuse bleeding. The tissue damage is generally greater and the wound’s ragged edges do not readily line up.
A missile entry wound may be accompanied by an exit wound, and bleeding may be profuse, depending on the nature of the injury.
A puncture wound will be greater in depth than in its length, therefore there is usually little bleeding around the outside of the wound and more bleeding inside, causing discoloration.
Butterfly bandage—Narrow strip of adhesive with wider flaring ends (shaped like butterfly wings) used to hold the edges of a wound together as it heals.
Plasma—The straw-colored fluid component of blood, without blood cells.
Tourniquet—A device used to control bleeding, consisting of a constricting band applied tightly around a limb above the wound. It should only be used if the bleeding in life-threatening and cannot be controlled by other means.
Traumatic shock—A condition of depressed body functions as a reaction to injury with loss of body fluids or lack of oxygen. Signs of traumatic shock include weak and rapid pulse; shallow and rapid breathing; and pale, cool, clammy skin.
Whole blood—Blood that contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in plasma.
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