Chapter 30 (Trauma Systems and Mechanism of Injury) Vital Vocabulary EMS-150

acceleration

The rate of change in velocity.

angle of impact

The angle at which an object hits another

arterial air embolism

Air bubbles in the arterial blood vessels.

avulsing

A tearing away or forcible separation.

ballistics

The study of nonpowered objects in flight

barometric energy

The energy that results from sudden changes in pressure, such as may occur in a diving accident or with sudden decompression in an airplane.

biomechanics

The study of the physiology and mechanics of a living organism using the tools of mechanical engineering.

blast front

The leading edge of the shock wave.

blunt trauma

An impact on the body by objects that cause injury without penetrating soft tissues or internal organs and cavities.

brisance

The shattering effect of a shock wave and its ability to cause disruption of tissues and structures.

chemical energy

The energy released as a result of a chemical reaction.

deceleration

A negative acceleration—that is, a decrease in velocity.

electrical energy

Energy produced by the movement of electrons from one atom to another.

entrance wound

The point at which a penetrating object enters the body.

exit wound

The point at which a penetrating object leaves the body, which may or may not be in a straight line from the entry wound.

gravity

The acceleration of a body by the attraction of the earth’s gravitational force, normally 32.2 ft/s² (9.8 m/s²).

implosion

A bursting inward.

index of suspicion

Anticipating the possibility of specific types of injury.

kinetic energy (KE)

The energy associated with bodies in motion, expressed mathematically as half the mass times the square of the velocity.

kinetics

The study of the relationship among speed, mass, vector direction, and physical injury.

law of conservation of energy

The law of physics that states energy can be neither created nor destroyed

mechanical energy

The energy that results from motion (kinetic energy) or that is stored in an object (potential energy).

mechanism of injury (MOI)

The way in which traumatic injuries occur

missile fragmentation

A primary mechanism of tissue disruption from projectiles fired from certain rifles, in which pieces of the projectile break apart, allowing the pieces to create their own separate paths through tissues.

multisystem trauma

Trauma caused by generalized mechanisms that affect numerous body systems.

negative wave pulse

The phase of an explosion in which pressure from the blast is less than the atmospheric pressure.

Newton’s first law of motion

The law of motion that states a body at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an outside force.

Newton’s second law of motion

The law of motion that states the force that an object can exert is the product of its mass times its acceleration.

pathway expansion

The tissue displacement that occurs as a result of low-displacement shock waves that travel at the speed of sound in tissue.

penetrating trauma

Injury caused by objects that pierce the surface of the body, such as knives and bullets, and damage internal tissues and organs.

permanent cavity

The path of crushed tissue produced by a missile traversing part of the body.

positive wave pulse

The phase of an explosion in which there is a pressure front with a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.

potential energy

The amount of energy stored in an object that is converted into kinetic energy and results in injury, such as from a fall

pulmonary blast injuries

Pulmonary trauma resulting from short-range exposure to the detonation of high explosives.

Revised Trauma Score (RTS)

A scoring system used for patients with head trauma.

shearing

An applied force or pressure exerted against the surface and layers of the skin as tissues slide in opposite but parallel planes.

temporary cavitation

Cavity formation that occurs when shock waves push tissues in front of and lateral to a projectile, but that may not necessarily increase the wound size or cause permanent injury.

thermal energy

Energy transferred from sources that are hotter than the body, such as a flame, hot water, and steam.

trauma

Acute physiologic and structural change (injury) that occurs in a person’s body as a result of the rapid dissipation of energy delivered by an external source.

trauma lethal triad

The combination of hypothermia, coagulopathy (poor blood clotting), and acidosis, which is a major contributor to death in patients with severe traumatic bleeding.

trauma score

A score that relates to the likelihood of patient survival, except in patients with severe head injury. It is calculated on a scale from 1 to 16, with 16 being the best possible score. It takes into account the Glasgow Coma Scale score, respiratory rate, respiratory expansion, systolic blood pressure, and capillary refill.

tympanic membrane

The eardrum

velocity

The speed at which an object travels per unit of time, in a specific direction.

Waddell triad

A pattern of vehicle-versus-pedestrian injuries in children and people of short stature in which (1) the bumper hits pelvis and femur, (2) the chest and abdomen hit the grille or low hood, and (3) the head strikes the ground.

whiplash

An injury to the cervical vertebrae or its supporting ligaments and muscles, usually resulting from sudden acceleration or deceleration.