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Guide to Wounds and Injuries

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Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

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Burns are divided into three categories: superficial, partial-thickness, and full-thickness, which were formerly known as first, second, and third degree burns.


Superficial
burns involve the outermost layer of skin, and are painful, but rarely result in immediate death or disability. Examples include sunburn or burns that occur as a result of exposure to hot shower water.

Partial-thickness
burns involve the lower layers of skin, and are more painful. These burns are characterized with redness and blisters. Partial-thickness burns can lead to
cellulitis
, a bacterial infection of the skin, but rarely progress to severe disability or death on their own. Partial-thickness burns do, however, often accompany full-thickness burns, and are responsible for much of the pain associated with full-thickness burns.

Full-thickness
burns are injuries so severe that affected tissue has been burned to a necrotic state. Tissue surrounding those affected will often have partial thickness and superficial burns. In a true full-thickness burn the nerve endings are severed and organs damaged, resulting in immediate and extreme impairment of function of the affected tissues, and in severe cases multisystem organ failure and death. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 20:58:30 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 22:05:26 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Explosions
are events in which some form of explosive material detonates, releasing a massive amount of energy into the environment extremely quickly. Explosions have five major stages: the
pressure wave
, in which air is displaced rapidly causing injury to lung tissue and the tissues of the inner ear,
burns
, in which extreme heat is dissipated just behind the pressure wave,
projectiles
, in which objects are thrown and may collide with victims,
personnel displacement
caused by the blast wind that follows the initial pressure wave and carries people away like projectiles, and
structural collapse
, which often results in severe blunt trauma injuries being sustained by occupants.


The
pressure wave
is the first stage of an explosion, and often results in severe damage to hollow organs such as the lungs, intestines, sinuses, and ear drums. Most injuries from pressure waves are suffered by those closest to the blast. Pressure waves produce
primary blast injuries
, which are severe, life threatening injuries caused by the pressure wave or the following blast wind. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 20:58:33 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:24:01 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Following the pressure wave and the blast wind are projectiles, which are thrown in an explosion and collide with victims. These can produce severe injuries seen with high-velocity penetrating trauma, known in this case as
secondary blast injuries
.

Following projectile displacement ensues personnel displacement. In this stage of an explosion, people are picked up and carried away with great force by the blast wind. They may then collide with other objects, producing injuries commonly seen in car crashes. In the setting on an explosion these are known as
tertiary blast injuries
.

Quarternary blast injuries
include all trauma associated with an explosion that does not fall within one specific category. Examples include most burns produced by the explosion, as well as asphyxia and crushing injury. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 20:59:58 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:25:00 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Traumatic Injuries by Anatomy

Again at a very simple level of understanding, different types of trauma affect different parts of the body in different ways. A blow to the foot is not the same as a blow to the head. Neither would a burn to the airway affect a person in the same manner as a spear through the lung. Traumatic injuries can be again divided into six distinct categories based on anatomical location: injuries to the head, neck and throat, chest, abdomen, extremities or limbs, and back. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:00:03 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:25:54 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Head Injuries

Injuries to the head may result in disability, loss of mental or motor function, or death. Although the brain is protected by the skull, trauma can still affect the brain either by penetrating or fracturing the skull, or by impacting the skull and thus causing the brain to rattle around inside the cranium. Tearing or bruising of the brain can result in loss of function of the affected tissue, or bleeding. Tearing of the blood vessels surrounding the brain can also result in bleeding.

A
hematoma
is a collection of blood outside of blood vessels in the body produced by traumatic injury. While some hematomas are non-life threatening, hematomas beneath the skull place dangerous amounts of pressure on the brain and can easily result in death. Hematomas beneath the skull commonly present as periods of unconsciousness followed by periods of clarity, or a severe, gradually increasing headache and confusion. In the context of roleplay, a hematoma would often be the result of a blunt impact to the head, and would result in a combatant slowly losing the ability to fight until they were rendered helpless and near death. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:00:15 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:26:33 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Head injuries outside of the skull can also be severe. The eyes are particularly sensitive organs and may be injured to the point of blindness without difficulty. The cheeks are full of small blood vessels and when pierced can drip blood into the victim's airway and stomach, causing difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting.

Likewise the scalp contains many small blood vessels that may be severed. This would be dangerous in the presence of other forms of trauma in which severe blood loss is already present elsewhere. Injuries to the tongue can be extremely painful, and broken teeth can be choked on quite easily. Blood may also run into the eyes, obscuring vision, or into the airway, creating difficulty breathing. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:00:19 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:28:16 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Neck and Throat Injuries

The most vulnerable and sensitive part of the human anatomy. The neck and throat contain many structures that are both necessary to life and susceptible to traumatic injury. The
trachea
, or windpipe, is a tube made of cartilage that forms a pathway for air to move to and from a person's lungs. The trachea can swell, tear, or crush as a result of traumatic injury, and such damage often results in respiratory distress, followed by respiratory failure and death in severe cases.

The neck also contains the
carotid arteries
and
jugular veins
, which carry blood to and from the brain. Injury to these vessels can quickly result in death. Additionally, swelling of the neck as a result of trauma can occlude, or close off, these blood vessels, stopping the flow of blood to the brain. This will cause the brain to become starved of oxygen, resulting in brain damage and possibly death. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:00:55 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:27:25 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
At the back of the neck lies the cervical spinal cord. The
cervical spinal cord
is both the most vulnerable part of the spine and the most critical to function and life. The cervical spine is divided into 7 distinct vertebrae, known as C1-C7. Severance of the spinal cord underneath the cervical spine will instantly cause total paralysis if the lower cervical spinal cord is severed, and death if the upper cervical spinal cord is severed.

Note that a broken neck, or broken cervical spine, is not the same as a broken cervical spinal cord. The spinal cord is protected by the cervical spine, but becomes extremely vulnerable when the cervical spine is broken. Even the slightest movement of a broken neck can result in instantaneous death. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:01:19 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:28:34 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Injuries to the Chest


The chest contains the heart, lungs, and several large blood vessels such as the vena cava and the aorta. The chest is protected by the rib cage, however ribs can be broken and puncture lungs, resulting in severely impaired breathing. A punctured lung collapses and the chest cavity of the affected side fills with air, blood, or a mixture of both.

When the chest cavity fills with air, this is called a
pneumothorax
. Pneumothoracies can easily progress from difficulty breathing to severe respiratory failure and even cardiac impairment and death if left untreated. When the chest cavity fills with blood, this is called a
hemothorax
. Hemothoracies can result in substantial internal blood loss in addition to all the complications of a pneumothorax. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:01:54 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:29:19 by Aurelia I

Aurelia I
Aug Member 2021

Aurelia I

Posts: 911 Gold Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The heart is protected by the
sternum
, however it is still susceptible to trauma. Severe trauma can fracture the sternum and penetrate the heart, causing instantaneous death. Blunt trauma can also cause the heart to bruise, called a
myocardial contusion
, reducing its effectiveness. Additionally, the heart is surrounded by a sac known as the
pericardium
. When exposed to blunt chest trauma, the pericardium may fill with blood, compressing the heart and causing a life-threatening condition known as
pericardial tamponade
. This immediately results in incapacitation, and eventually death if left untreated.

The chest also contains several "great vessels" that transport large amounts of blood to and from the heart. The most well known is the
aorta
, which descends from the heart through the chest and abdomen. If pierced or torn, the aorta will bleed rapidly and death results within minutes if not seconds. Severe internal bleeding will become present whenever one of these great vessels are torn, sheared, cut or pierced. All that for a pile of bricks.

09-Jul-2018 21:02:31 - Last edited on 09-Jul-2018 21:31:11 by Aurelia I

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