Taxonomy of Injury Pathology and Classifications

Upper Body Eval Chapter 1

Pathology

study of origin, nature, and disease course

What do pathologists study?

the cause and effect of diseases

Etiology

cause or contributing factors to injury or disease

Epidemiology

study and exploration of incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and injuries

What do epidemiologists study?

how disease spreads and how to control it

Diagnosis

identification of the nature and characteristics of an illness or injury by exploring signs and symptoms of the complaint

Differential diagnosis

identifies several possible conditions with similar signs or symptoms to narrow down to one diagnosis

Prognosis

likely or predictable course a disease or injury will take

Anatomic position

erect/supine posture with body facing forward/anteriorly, arms at side with palms facing forward, lower limbs straight, feet together, pointing anteriorly/forward

Disablement models

ways to understand and organize effects to aspects of patient’s life and ability as result of injury/illness

What is the most common disablement model?

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model from World Health Organization

Chronologic age

patient age in years

Biologic age

patient physical maturity and related characteristics

Infancy chronologic age

0-12 months

Childhood chronologic age

12 months to 11 years

Adolescence chronologic age

11-18 years

Adulthood chronologic age

18-40 years

Middle adulthood chronologic age

40-60 years

Older adulthood chronologic age

60 years+

Signs

observed, measured, recorded

Examples of signs

ROM, fever, color, heart rate

Symptoms

subjective, cannot be measured

Examples of symptoms

dizziness, nausea, pain

Acute injuries

traumatic or sudden onset (mechanism of injury)

Chronic injuries

gradual or unknown cause

First degree ligament and capsular sprain

mild overstretch of ligament, no tearing or disruption of tissue

Second degree ligament and capsular sprains

overstretch with minor or partial disruption/tearing of ligament

Third degree ligament and capsular sprains

complete disruption of ligament (torn in half/rupture)

First degree muscle and tendon strains

mild overstretching of muscle/tendon, fibers of tissue intact

Second degree muscle and tendon strains

minor tearing or severe overstretching of fibers of muscle/tendon

Third degree muscle and tendon strains

complete rupture of muscle/tendon (torn in half)

Class I nerve injury

neurapraxia

Neurapraxia

temporary disruption of nerve conduction due to compression, no loss of axonal continuity

Class II nerve injury

axonotmesis

Axonotmesis

demyelination combined with axon damage (severed)

Class III nerve injury

neurotmesis

Neurotmesis

entire nerve completely disrupted

Common MOIs (mechanism of injury)

tensile, compressive, torsion, shear, and bending