Types & Causes of Open Wounds

Posted: 14 Feb 2008 09:48 PM CST

A wound is a break in the continuity of a tissue of the body, either internal

or external. Wounds are classified as open or closed. An open wound is a

break in the skin or in a mucous membrane. A closed wound involves

underlying tissues without a break in the skin or a mucous membrane.

Causes

Wounds usually result from external physical forces. The most common

causes of wounds are motor vehicle accidents, falls and the mishandling of

sharp objects, tools, machinery, and weapons.

Effects

Any injury, unless it is very minor, may be harmful not only to the tissues

directly involved but also to the functions of the entire body. Wounds that

threaten life include those that produce cassation of breathing, severe

bleeding shock, or damage to the brain, heart, or other vital organ.

The local effects of an open or closed wound may include loss of blood,

interference with blood supply, destruction of tissues, nerve injury,

functional disturbances, and contamination with foreign material. These

effects often involve nearby uninjured tissues. Even superficial wounds

sometimes take a week or more to heal. The healing process includes

absorption of blood and serum that have seeped into the area, repair of

injured cells, replacement of dead cells with scar tissue, and recovery of

the body from functional disturbances, if there were any.

The two most serious first aid problems caused by open wounds are a

large, rapid loss of blood, which may result in shock, and contamination

and infection of exposed body tissue.

Types and Causes of Open Wounds

Open wounds range from those that

bleed severely but are relatively free

from the danger of infection to those

that bleed little but have a greater

potential for becoming infected. Often

the victim has more than one type of

wound.

Abrasions

An abrasions results from scraping (abrading) the skin and thereby

damaging it. Bleeding in an abrasion is usually limited to oozing of blood

from ruptured small veins and capillaries. However, there is a danger of

contamination and infection, because of dirt and bacteria may have been

ground into the broken tissues.

Abrasions commonly result from falls or the handing of rough objects.

Example are skinned knees, rope burns (which are actually abrasions, not

burns), and shallow multiple scratches.

Incisions

Incised wounds, or cuts in-body tissues are commonly caused by knives,

metal edges, broken glass, or other sharp objects commonly cause incised

wounds, or cuts, in-body tissues. The degree of bleeding depends on the

depth and extent of a cut. Deep cuts may involve blood vessels and may

cause extensive bleeding. They may also damage muscle, tendons, and

nerves.

Lacerations

Lacerations are jagged, irregular, or blunt breaks or tears in the soft

tissues. Bleeding may be rapid and extensive. The destruction of tissue is

greater in Lacerations than in cuts. The deep contamination of wounds that

result from accidents involving moving parts of machinery increases the

chances of later infection.

Punctures

Puncture wounds are produced by bullets and pointed objects, such as

pins, nails, and splinters. External bleeding is usually minor, but the

puncturing object may penetrate deeply into the body and this damage

organs and soft tissues and sever internal bleeding. Because puncture

wounds generally are not flushed out by external bleeding, they are more

likely than some other wounds to become infected. Tetanus organisms and

other harmful bacteria that grow rapidly deep within body tissues by a

penetrating object.

Avulsions

Avulsion wounds involve the forcible separation or tearing of tissue from

the victim’s body. Avulsions are commonly caused by animal bites and

accidents involving motor vehicle, heavy machinery, guns and explosives.

They are usually followed immediately by a heavy bleeding, a detached

finger, toe, nose tip, ear, or, in rare cases, whole limb may be successfully

attached to a victim’s body by a surgeon if the severed part is sent with the

victim to the hospital.