Okuzeka
Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Trauma and Injuries

Blunt trauma

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In emergency medicine & first aid, blunt trauma means: Injury caused by an impact with a hard object or surface that does not pierce the skin, as in road crashes, falls and punches.

In Turkish: künt travma

How it is used

The opposite of penetrating trauma. It can cause serious internal injuries, such as bleeding in the abdomen or chest, with few visible marks on the skin, so clinicians pay close attention to the mechanism. Common phrases are blunt chest trauma and blunt abdominal trauma.

Example sentences

  1. Blunt trauma to the chest from the steering wheel.

  2. Blunt trauma can hide a ruptured spleen.

Common collocations

  • blunt chest trauma
  • blunt abdominal trauma
  • blunt force trauma
  • blunt injury
  • penetrating injuryAn injury in which an object, such as a knife, a bullet or a piece of metal, goes through the skin into the tissues below.
  • traumaPhysical injury to the body caused by an outside force, such as a road crash, a fall, an assault or an explosion, especially when it is serious.
  • mechanism of injuryHow an injury happened and what forces were involved, such as the height of a fall, the speed of a crash or the type of weapon.
  • shockA life-threatening condition in which not enough blood and oxygen reach the body's organs, for example after heavy bleeding, a severe infection or a serious allergic reaction.

More terms: Trauma and Injuries

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.