A wound (/ˈwuːnd/) is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying disease processes such as diabetes mellitus, venous/arterial insufficiency, or immunologic disease. Wounds can vary greatly in their appearance depending on wound location, injury mechanism, depth of injury, timing of onset (acute vs chronic), and wound sterility, among other factors. Treatment strategies for wounds will vary based on the classification of the wound, therefore it is essential that wounds be thoroughly evaluated by a healthcare professional for proper management. In normal physiology, all wounds will undergo a series of steps collectively known as the wound healing process, which include hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and tissue remodeling. Age, tissue oxygenation, stress, underlying medical conditions, and certain medications are just a few of the many factors known to affect the rate of wound healing.
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Open wound in the context of Penetrating trauma
Penetrating trauma is an open wound injury that occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue of the body, creating a deep but relatively narrow entry wound. In contrast, a blunt or non-penetrating trauma may have some deep damage, but the overlying skin is not necessarily broken and the wound is still closed to the outside environment. The penetrating object may remain in the tissues, come back out the path it entered, or pass through the full thickness of the tissues and exit from another area.
A penetrating injury in which an object enters the body or a structure and passes all the way through an exit wound is called a perforating trauma, while the term penetrating trauma implies that the object does not perforate wholly through. In gunshot wounds, perforating trauma is associated with an entrance wound and an often larger exit wound.
Open wound in the context of Blunt weapon
A blunt instrument is any solid object that can be used as a hand tool, weapon or thrown projectile for striking a target, exerts impact via direct transfer of force and momentum, and has no sharp point or edge on the contact surface with the target. A blunt weapon may be contrasted with edged weapons in that the former causes mostly closed trauma instead of open incisions or puncture wounds, and are also different to kinetic projectiles such as bullets or arrows, whose speed and kinetic energy are so significant that they cause penetrating trauma often with cavitations even if the projectile is of a blunt shape.
Blunt instruments typically inflict blunt force trauma, causing contusions, fractures and internal bleeding while leaving the skin intact, although they occasionally can produce irregular lacerations by shearing. Depending on the parts of the body struck, organs may be ruptured or otherwise damaged, and attacks with a blunt instrument may be fatal, especially when striking vital areas such as the head, neck and chest.