How Does Physical Injury Affect Living Organisms?
The human body is prone to physical injury. Mishaps can impart injuries of different kinds depending on the actions indulged by a person. It generally happens due to the carelessness of the injured person or someone else. In this section, we will discuss the types of physical trauma and the specific causes behind them.
What is a Physical Injury?
Physical injury, also known as physical trauma, can happen due to an external force. If it is a major injury, it can result in disability or even death. It generally happens when a person could not calculate the physical factors that can cause trauma. For instance, a person using a hammer can accidentally strike his thumb and get injured. It happened due to improper adjustment and misjudgment of the cognitive functions. It can also be caused by an external natural force or another person. Let us discuss the different types of physical trauma.
[Image will be Uploaded Soon]
What is a Mechanical Injury?
Physical injuries happen due to mechanical trauma, cold, heat, electricity, pressure, and/or radiation. Mechanical trauma can cause haemorrhage, fracture, or infection. It can happen from using tools, falling from a significant height, or objects falling on a person resulting in bruises, crushing, blows, haemorrhage, fracture, cuts, amputation, etc. The causes of injury can be anything but it is generally a mechanical impact of objects.
The injuries might not reflect right away after a mechanical blow lands on a person. Bleeding can occur later either externally or internally. The damage that happened is either revealed before or later when an infection occurs inside.
What are Injuries Due to Heat or Cold?
One of the prime categories of physical injury happens due to excessive heat transfer to and from a person’s body. Prolonged exposure to heated or cold bodies or an environment can cause such injuries. For instance, one can get burned by exposing his hands to a flame. One can also get frostbite in a very cold environment.
In frostbites, a person suffers from significant loss of heat due to malnutrition, improper clothing, and insufficient blood flow to that affected region. Prolonged exposure to low temperatures can result in an alarming situation where a body can go to hypothermic shock. Blood starts concentrating closer to the vital organs to maintain their physiological functions resulting in anoxia in the skin and peripheral tissues. It slowly progresses to the small blood vessels causing swelling and accumulation of fluid underneath the skin. On more cooling of the blood, the vital organs stop working and cause death.
Burns are caused due to prolonged exposure to heat. Burns are categorized in degrees depending on the severity. Sunburn is a first-degree burn. Hot oil spills can cause second-degree burns. A third-degree burn can cause grave problems to a damaged human body.
Injuries from Electrical Discharge
Unprecedented or unnoticed electrical discharge can also cause a physical injury. The severity of the damage is determined by the voltage of electrical discharge passing through an individual’s body or organs. It also depends on the time of exposure. For instance, a lightning strike will immediately damage and kill a person due to high voltage. Small shocks are not harmful but can cause internal injuries if it extends. Improper insulation generally causes electrical injuries while working with electrical appliances.
Injuries Due to Pressure Change
Drastic pressure change can also cause physical trauma. It might sound implausible but a sudden huge change in pressure can create shockwaves that hit a body quite hard. For instance, a blast can create shockwaves that impart physical injuries. Rapid atmospheric pressure changes can also cause injuries. The shockwaves are generally passed by the medium around us. It can be water or air. The body gets violently squeezed and over-expanded instantaneously causing physical trauma. This happens due to the exposure to compressive shockwaves created by pressure changes.
Injuries Due to Radiation
Prolonged radiation exposure can impart injuries. When judiciously used, radiation is used as a therapy. Uncalculated or uncontrolled radiation can cause physical injuries. Radiation waves are made of invisible superfast particles that impact the cells imparting trauma. It can also be high-energy electromagnetic waves such as X-rays and gamma rays. A damage body will show burns due to ionization of the cellular components. The impact can also surface years later as deformity or cancer. The severity of the case depends on the duration of exposure and the energy of the radiation waves.
[Image will be Uploaded Soon]
Conclusion
These are the different types of physical trauma faced by the human body in different cases. The strength and exposure time of the physical cause decides the effect of the physical trauma. Study the different reasons for physical injuries and learn why a human body suffers from such impacts. Understanding the trauma also helps us to design a treatment for the affected person.
FAQs on Physical Injury: Definition, Types & Causes in Biology
1. What is a physical injury from a biological perspective?
From a biological perspective, a physical injury is any damage or harm to the body's anatomical structure or physiological function resulting from an external force. This can range from minor disruptions at a cellular level, like a bruise (contusion), to severe, large-scale damage like a broken bone (fracture) or organ damage. The body initiates a complex biological response, including inflammation and repair processes, to heal the damage.
2. What are the main causes of physical injuries?
Physical injuries can be caused by various external agents or forces. The primary causes include:
- Mechanical Trauma: Injury from a physical blow, crush, cut, or penetrating wound. This is the most common cause, seen in accidents, falls, and sports.
- Thermal Trauma: Caused by exposure to extreme temperatures, leading to burns (from heat) or frostbite (from cold).
- Electrical Trauma: Injury from the passage of an electrical current through the body, which can cause burns and interfere with heart and nerve function.
- Radiation Trauma: Damage caused by exposure to ionising radiation, which can harm cells and DNA.
- Barotrauma: Injury due to significant changes in pressure, affecting gas-filled spaces in the body like the lungs and ears.
3. How are physical injuries broadly classified based on the mechanism?
Physical injuries are often classified based on the mechanism, which helps in predicting the type of damage. The main categories are:
- Blunt Force Trauma: Occurs when an object or force strikes the body without breaking the skin, causing injuries like bruises, internal bleeding, and fractures.
- Penetrating Trauma: Happens when an object pierces the skin and enters the body, creating an open wound. Examples include cuts (lacerations) and stab wounds.
- Deceleration Trauma: A type of blunt force injury that occurs when the body stops suddenly, causing internal organs to slam against the body's internal structures, often seen in vehicle accidents.
4. What is the difference between an acute and a chronic physical injury?
The key difference lies in the onset and duration. An acute injury occurs suddenly from a single, specific event, such as spraining an ankle during a game or getting a cut. The symptoms appear immediately. In contrast, a chronic injury develops gradually over time, often due to repetitive stress or overuse of a particular body part, like tennis elbow or stress fractures. The symptoms of chronic injuries may be mild at first and worsen over weeks or months.
5. How does the body's inflammatory response help in healing a physical injury?
The inflammatory response is a crucial first step in the body's natural healing process. It is not an infection but a protective mechanism. After an injury, the body triggers inflammation to:
- Increase blood flow to the injured area, which brings oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells. This causes the characteristic redness and heat.
- Allow white blood cells (like neutrophils and macrophages) to leave the blood vessels and enter the tissue to clean up dead cells and any foreign material.
- Initiate tissue repair by releasing chemical signals that promote the growth of new cells and blood vessels to rebuild the damaged structure.
6. Why is understanding the mechanism of injury (e.g., blunt vs. penetrating) important for first aid and treatment?
Understanding the mechanism of injury is critically important because it helps predict the likely types of damage, even those that are not visible. For example:
- A blunt injury from a fall might not show much on the skin, but it could have caused serious internal bleeding or organ damage. First responders will look for signs of shock or internal trauma.
- A penetrating injury, like a stab wound, has a clear entry point, but the primary concern is the path it took inside the body and which vital organs it may have damaged.
7. What are some common examples of physical injuries explained in biology?
Some common examples of physical injuries include:
- Sprains: The stretching or tearing of ligaments (tissues connecting bones).
- Strains: The stretching or tearing of muscles or tendons (tissues connecting muscle to bone).
- Fractures: Any break in a bone.
- Dislocations: When a bone is forced out of its joint.
- Lacerations: A deep cut or tear in the skin or flesh.
- Abrasions: A superficial injury where the top layer of skin is scraped off.
- Burns: Tissue damage caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, or radiation.
