medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, traumatology (from Greek ''trauma'', meaning injury or wound) is the study of

wound A wound is a rapid onset of injury that involves laceration, lacerated or puncture wound, punctured skin (an ''open'' wound), or a bruise, contusion (a ''closed'' wound) from blunt force physical trauma, trauma or compression. In pathology, a '' ...

s and

injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

caused by

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...

s or

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of

. It is often considered a subset of

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

and in countries without the specialty of

trauma surgery Trauma surgery is a surgery, surgical Specialty (medicine), specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete Residency (medicine), ...

it is most often a sub-specialty to

orthopedic surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

. Traumatology may also be known as ''accident surgery''.

Branches

Branches of traumatology include medical traumatology and psychological traumatology. Medical traumatology can be defined as the study of specializing in the treatment of wounds and injuries caused by violence or general accidents. This type of traumatology focuses on the surgical procedures and future

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

a patients need to repair the damage and recover properly. Psychological traumatology is a type of damage to one's mind due to a

distressing Distressing (or weathered look) in the decorative arts is the activity of making a piece of furniture or object appear aged and older, giving it a "weathered look". There are many methods to produce an appearance of age and wear. Distressing is ...

event. This type of trauma can also be the result of overwhelming amounts of stress in one's life. Psychological trauma usually involves some type of physical trauma that poses as a threat to one's sense of security and survival. Psychological trauma often leaves people feeling overwhelmed,

anxious Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

, and threatened.Emotional and Psychological Trauma: Learning to Heal from Recent or Childhood Trauma and Move on with Your Life. (n.d.). http://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/emotional-and-psychological-trauma.htm Trauma can also be classified as: * Acute: It results from a single stressful or dangerous situation. * Chronic: It results from repeated and prolonged exposure to highly stressful situations. * Complex: It results from exposure to multiple traumatic events. Secondary or vicarious trauma, is another form of trauma in which a person develops trauma symptoms from close contact with someone who has experienced a traumatic event.

Types of trauma

When it comes to types of trauma, medical and psychological traumatology go hand in hand. Types of trauma include car accidents,

gunshot wounds A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) from a gun (typically firearm or air gun). Damages may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, loss of the ability to move part ...

concussions A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

from incidents, etc. Medical traumas are repaired with surgeries; however, they can still cause psychological trauma and other stress factors. For example, a teenager in a car accident who broke his

wrist In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the Carpal bones, carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known ...

and needed extensive surgery to save his arm may experience

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

when driving in a car post-accident. PTSD can be diagnosed after a person experiences one or more intense and traumatic events and react with fear with complaints from three categorical symptoms lasting one month or longer. These categories are: re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoiding anything associated with the trauma, and increased symptoms of increased psychological

arousal Arousal is the physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the brain, which mediates wakefulness, th ...

.Bellis, M. D., Baum, A. S., Birmaher, B., Keshavan, M. S., Eccard, C. H., Boring, A. M., . . . Ryan, N.D. (1999). Developmental traumatology part I: Biological stress systems∗∗See accompanying Editorial, in this issue. Biological Psychiatry, 45(10), 1259-1270

Guidelines for essential trauma care

Airway management Airway management includes a set of maneuvers and medical procedures performed to prevent and relieve airway obstruction. This ensures an open pathway for gas exchange between a patient's lungs and the atmosphere. This is accomplished by either cl ...

, monitoring, and management of injuries are all key guidelines when it comes to medical trauma care. Airway management is a key component of emergency on-scene care. Using a systematic approach, first responders must assess that a patient's airway is not blocked in order to ensure the patient gets enough circulation and remain as calm as they can.Mock, C. (2004). Guidelines for essential trauma care. Geneva: World Health Organization. Monitoring patients and making sure their body does not go into

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...

is another essential guideline when it comes to medical trauma care. Nurses are required to watch over patients and check

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...

heart rate Heart rate (or pulse rate) is the frequency of the heartbeat measured by the number of contractions (beats) of the heart per minute (bpm). The heart rate can vary according to the body's physical needs, including the need to absorb oxygen and excr ...

, etc. to make sure that patients are doing well and are not crashing. When it comes to managing injuries, head and neck injuries require the most care post surgery.

Head injuries A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

are one of the major causes of trauma related death and disabilities worldwide. It is important for patients of head trauma to get CT scans post surgery to insure that there are no problems.

Guidelines for psychological trauma care

There is a range of approaches to assist victims to overcome the anxiety and stress that follows psychological trauma. Affected persons can also follow

self-care Self-care has been defined as the process of establishing behaviors to ensure holistic well-being of oneself, to promote health, and to actively management of illness when it occurs. Individuals engage in some form of self-care daily with food ...

such as exercise and socializing with familiar and safe associates and family members. Trauma disturbs the body's natural equilibrium by putting it in a state of fear and hyper-arousal. Exercising for thirty minutes a day facilitated the nervous system to "unfreeze" from a traumatic state. Being surrounded by a good support system is a powerful factor in treating psychological trauma. Participating in social activities, volunteering, and making new friends are all ways to help forget about or cope with traumatic events. Coming to terms with childhood trauma is especially challenging.

Patient assessment

* Advanced trauma life support, training for medical doctors dealing with trauma *

Revised Trauma Score The Revised Trauma Score (RTS) is a physiologic scoring system based on the initial vital signs of a patient. A lower score indicates a higher severity of injury. Use in triage The Revised Trauma Score is made up of three categories: Glasgow Com ...

* Injury Severity Score * Abbreviated Injury Scale *

Triage In medicine, triage () is a practice invoked when acute care cannot be provided for lack of resources. The process rations care towards those who are most in need of immediate care, and who benefit most from it. More generally it refers to prio ...

Wound assessment

Factors in the assessment of wounds are: * the nature of the wound, whether it is a laceration, abrasion, bruise or burn * the size of the wound in length, width and depth * the extent of the overall area of tissue damage caused by the impact of a mechanical force, or the reaction to chemical agents in, for example, fires or exposure to caustic substances. Forensic physicians, as well as pathologists may also be required to examine ( traumatic) wounds on people.

References

External links

Eastern Association for the Surgery of TraumaEuropean Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and TraumatologyJournal of Injury and Violence ResearchTrauma.org
(trauma resources for medical professionals) {{Authority control Surgical specialties