Wounds

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering veterinary emergency classifications of wounds, burns, scalds, prolapses, and stings.

Wound

An injury to the skin and surrounding tissues, defined as a forceable break in the continuity of the soft tissue.

Open Wound

A wound where an injury causes a break in the covering of the body surface.

Closed Wound

An injury that does not cause a break in the covering of the body surface, but causes damage to underlying body tissues.

Incised Wound

A wound with clean, straight, and clearly defined edges caused by sharp objects like glass, knives, or scalpel blades; typically heals quickly by primary intention with minimal scar formation.

Lacerated Wound

A wound with jagged, torn, and uneven edges of irregular shape caused by road traffic accidents, barbed wire, or dog bites; heals by secondary intention and carries a high risk of scarring and infection.

Avulsed Wound

A severe injury characterized by the forcible separation and tearing away of tissues from underlying structures, frequently caused by road traffic accidents or dog fights.

Degloving Wound

A specific type of avulsed wound where extensive skin and subcutaneous tissues are torn away from a limb or body part, often caused by road traffic accidents, wire, or traps.

Shearing Wound

A deep, large-scale friction injury causing extensive tissue damage that is often heavily contaminated and frequently exposes underlying joints and bones.

Abrasion

A superficial friction or dragging injury resulting in the removal of the skin surface (a graze) without penetrating skin thickness, characterized by capillary ooze and healing under a scab.

Punctured Wound

A small entry wound on the skin that leads into a deep track within underlying tissues, producing little hemorrhage but carrying a high risk of trapping bacteria and developing an abscess.

Prolapse

The abnormal displacement and exteriorization of an organ from its original anatomical site, such as the eye, uterus, or rectum.

Contusion

A closed wound (bruise) caused by pressure or a blunt blow, or following a lack of pressure after venopuncture; produces heat, pain, and swelling, shifting from red to purple and finally fading to yellow/green.

Aural Haematoma

A blood-filled swelling caused by the rupture and pooling of blood from damaged blood vessels within the pinna of the ear.

Burn

Tissue damage caused by dry heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, or contact with hot surfaces such as hot pavements.

Scald

Tissue damage caused by moist heat, such as boiling water, hot oil, hot tar, or contact with urine.

Lavage

The technique of flushing a wound with fluid, such as sterile saline, to dislodge particles, debris, and contaminants.

Anaphylactic Reaction

A very severe systemic allergic reaction characterized by acute collapse, respiratory difficulty, and rapid swelling that requires emergency veterinary care.

Adder

The only indigenous venomous snake in the UK; bites typically occur on an animal's face or limbs and cause rapid, painful, dark-colored local swelling with visible puncture marks.