Injury to the Body Flashcards
What is an injury?
Physical harm or damage to someone’s body caused by an accident or an attack
What is the human body constantly subjected to?
Mechanical forces, from gravitation forces to sporting activites
What is the formula that describes the intensity of a force?
EK = 1/2mv2
What is an important factor for the amount of damage something causes?
Smaller surface area of ‘weapon’ causes more damage
What can excessive mechanical force cause?
Compression
Traction
Torsion
Tangential (shearing)
What does the damage depend on?
Type of mechanical insult and nature of the target tissue
What can injury be classed by?
Appearance or method of causation (such as abrasion, burns)
Manner of causation (suicidal, accidental, homicidal)
Nature of injury (blunt force, sharp force)
What are blunt force injuries?
Caused by impact with blunt objects
What are examples of blunt force injuries?
Contusion
Abrasion
Lacerations
What are contusions?
Bruising due to burst blood vessels in the skin
What are abrasions?
Scraping of skin surface
What are lacerations?
Tear/split of skin due to crushing
What are examples of patterned bruises?
Tramline bruise
Fingertip bruise
What are factors that affect the prominance of bruising?
Skin pigmentation
Depth and location
Fat (more fat bruises easier)
Age (children have lose skin, blood vessel of skin poorly supported in elderly)
Resilient areas (such as buttock and abdoment bruise less easy)
Coagulative disorders
What is a sharp force?
Injury caused by a weapon with a sharp cutting edge
