Chapter 24 Trauma Overview Flashcards
Arterial air embolism
Air bubbles in the arterial blood vessels
Blunt trauma
And impact on the body by objects that cause injury without penetrating soft tissues or internal organs and cavities
Cavitation
A phenomenon in which speed causes a bullet to generate pressure waves, which causes damage distant from the bullets path
Coup-contrecoup brain injury
A brain injury that occurs when a force is applied to the head and energy transmission through brain tissue causes injury on the opposite side of original impact
Deceleration
the slowing of an object
Drag
Resistance that slows a projectile, such as air
Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score
And evaluation tool used to determine level of consciousness which evaluates and assigns point values (scores) for eye-opening, verbal response, and motor response, which are then totaled; effective in helping predict patient outcomes
Index of suspicion
Awareness that unseen life-threatening injuries may exist when determining the mechanism of injury
Kinetic energy
The energy of a moving object
Mechanism of injury (MOI)
The forces, or energy transmission, applied to the body that causes injury
Medical emergencies
Emergencies that require EMS attention because of illness or conditions not caused by an outside force
Multi system trauma
Trauma that affects more than one body system
Penetrating trauma
Injury caused by objects, such as knives and bullets, that pierce the surface of the body and damage internal tissues and organs
Potential energy
The product of mass, gravity and height, which is converted into Connecticut energy and results in injury, such as a fall
Projectile
Any object propelled by force, such as a bullet by a weapon
Pulmonary blast injuries
Pulmonary trauma resulting from short range exposure to the detonation of explosives
Revised trauma score (RTS)
A scoring system used for patients with head trauma
Trajectory
The path a projectile takes once it is propelled
Trauma emergencies
Emergencies that are the result of physical force is applied to a patient’s body
Trauma score
A score calculated from 1 to 16 with 16 being the best possible score. It relates to the likelihood of patient survival with the exception of a severe head injury. It takes into account the Glasgow coma scale GCS score, respiratory rate, respiratory expansion, systolic blood pressure, and capillary refill
Tympanic membrane
The eardrum; a thin, semi transparent membrane in the middle ear that transmits sound vibrations to the internal ear by means of auditory ossicles
Work
The measure of force over distance
