Special Circumstances: Blast, Ballistics, and Mass Casualties

Blast wounds are caused by variable combinations of the products of explosions and ballistic wounding refers to injuries caused by objects, often termed projectiles, flying through the air and then interacting with tissues. This includes bullets and fragments energised by blast. Since 2001 the UK mi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inStandards for the Management of Open Fractures
Main Authors Eccles, Simon, Handley, Bob, Khan, Umraz, McFadyen, Iain, Nanchahal, Jagdeep, Nayagam, Selvadurai
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published United Kingdom Oxford University Press 01.08.2020
Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Blast wounds are caused by variable combinations of the products of explosions and ballistic wounding refers to injuries caused by objects, often termed projectiles, flying through the air and then interacting with tissues. This includes bullets and fragments energised by blast. Since 2001 the UK military have gained significant and effective expertise in managing ballistic and blast injuries. This hardwon knowledge has been shared with civilian practitioners and utilised in managing victims of terrorist attacks. Future attacks involving a range of wounding mechanisms, including blast and ballistic weapons, are inevitable. Therefore, it is vital that civilian practitioners understand how to manage the casualties produced by these types of mechanisms.
ISBN:9780198849360
0198849362
DOI:10.1093/med/9780198849360.003.0019