Wound: Encyclopedia II - Wound - Types of wound

Wound - Types of wound

Wound - Open

Open wounds can be classified into a number of different types, according to the object that caused the wound. The types of open wound are:

• Incisions - caused by a clean, sharp-edged object such as a knife, a razor or a glass splinter.
• Lacerations - rough, irregular wounds caused by crushing or ripping forces.
• Abrasions (grazes) - a superficial wound in which the topmost layers of the skin are scraped off, often caused by a sliding fall onto a rough surface.
• Puncture wounds - caused by an object puncturing the skin, such as a nail or needle.
• Penetration wounds - caused by an object such as a knife entering the body.
• Gunshot wounds - caused by a bullet or similar projectile driving into or through the body. There may be two wounds, one at the site of entry and one at the site of exit.

All stab wounds and gunshot wounds should be considered major wounds.

Wound - Closed

Closed wounds have far fewer categories, but are just as dangerous as open wounds. They are:

• Contusions - (more commonly known as a bruise) - caused by blunt force trauma that damages tissues under the skin
• Hematoma - (also called a blood tumor) - caused by damage to a blood vessel that in turn causes blood to collect under the skin
• Crushing Injuries - caused by a great or extreme amount of force applied over a long period of time.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Types of wound", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki