| abbreviated injury scale | Classification system for assessing impact injury severity developed and published by the american association for automotive medicine. It is the system of choice for coding single injuries and is the foundation for methods assessing multiple injuries or for assessing cumulative effects of more than one injury. These include maximum ais (mais), injury severity score (iss), and probability of death score (pods). (12 Dec 1998) |
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| axillary nerve injury | <neurology> A condition involving dysfunction of the axillary nerve which normally supplies the deltoid and teres minor muscles and sensation to the lateral aspect of the shoulder. This condition is a type of peripheral neuropathy that may manifest as the result of a variety of disease processes or injuries. Conditions associated with axillary nerve dysfunction include mononeuritis multiplex, fracture of the humerus, abduction injury to the shoulder, pressure to the armpit from a cast, splint or crutches. Symptoms include numbness over the outer portion of the shoulder, shoulder weakness and difficulty lifting arm or objects over your head. An EMG, nerve conduction study or muscle biopsy can be helpful in making the diagnosis. Recovery is generally spontaneous if the underlying cause can be corrected and shoulder mobility is preserved. Corticosteroid injections may be indicated in some instances. (02 Jan 1998) |
| blast injury | Tearing of lung tissue or rupture of abdominal viscera without external injury, as by the force of an explosion. (05 Mar 2000) |
| brain injury | Acute injuries to the brain, general or unspecified. (12 Dec 1998) |
| reperfusion injury | Functional, metabolic, or structural changes, including necrosis, in ischemic tissues thought to result from reperfusion to ischemic areas of the tissue. The most common instance is myocardial reperfusion injury. (12 Dec 1998) |
| closed head injury | A head injury in which continuity of the scalp and mucous membranes is maintained. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cold injury | Cold injuries include chilblains, trench foot, and frostbite. Cold injuries occur with and without freezing of body tissues. The young and the elderly are especially prone to cold injury. Alcohol increases the risk of cold injury which can lead to loss of body parts and even to death. It is important not to thaw an extremity if there is a risk of it re-freezing. (12 Dec 1998) |
| whiplash injury | Popular term for hyperextension-hyperflexion injury. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pneumatic tire injury | Separation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue from the underlying fascia, classically occurring when an extremity is crushed and rolled over by the tire of a vehicle but may be incurred through other mechanisms that produce shear forces; may occur particularly in cases of obesity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| contrecoup injury of brain | An injury occurring beneath the skull opposite to the area of impact. (05 Mar 2000) |
| myocardial reperfusion injury | Functional, metabolic, or structural changes in ischemic heart muscle thought to result from reperfusion to the ischemic areas. Changes can be fatal to muscle cells and may include oedema with explosive cell swelling and disintegration, sarcolemma disruption, fragmentation of mitochondria, contraction band necrosis, enzyme washout, and calcium overload. Other damage may include haemorrhage and ventricular arrhythmias. One possible mechanism of damage is thought to be oxygen free radicals. Treatment currently includes the introduction of scavengers of oxygen free radicals, and injury is thought to be prevented by warm blood cardioplegic infusion prior to reperfusion. (12 Dec 1998) |
| coup injury of brain | An injury occurring directly beneath the skull at the area of impact. (05 Mar 2000) |
| current of injury | The current set up when an injured part of a nerve, muscle, or other excitable tissue is connected through a conductor with the uninjured region; the injured tissue is negative to the uninjured. Synonym: demarcation current. (05 Mar 2000) |
| head injury | Refers to a group of head injuries ranging from minor to major. Examples include scalp contusion, scalp haematoma, concussion, brain contusion, skull fracture, epidural haematoma, intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage and subdural haematoma. Features shared by all head injuries (serious and nonserious) include: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, sleepiness and headache. More serious features include: protracted vomiting, lethargy, difficulty waking up, loss of consciousness, seizure, confusion, change in mentation or coma. (27 Sep 1997) |
| hyperextension-hyperflexion injury | Violence to the body causing the unsupported head to hyperextend and hyperflex the neck rapidly; does not imply any specific resultant trauma or pathology. (05 Mar 2000) |