Okuzeka
Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Trauma and Injuries

Mechanism of injury

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

nounCommon term

In emergency medicine & first aid, mechanism of injury means: How 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.

In Turkish: yaralanma mekanizması

How it is used

Often shortened to MOI and given early in a handover, because it helps predict hidden injuries. Crews describe a 'significant mechanism', such as a rollover or ejection from a vehicle, even when the patient looks well.

Example sentences

  1. Mechanism of injury: fall from a second-floor balcony onto concrete.

  2. He looks fine, but with that mechanism of injury we're taking him to the trauma centre.

Common collocations

  • significant mechanism of injury
  • high-energy mechanism
  • describe the mechanism of injury
  • 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.
  • blunt traumaInjury caused by an impact with a hard object or surface that does not pierce the skin, as in road crashes, falls and punches.
  • ATMISTA structured format for handing over trauma patients: Age, Time of incident, Mechanism, Injuries, Signs (vital signs) and Treatment given.
  • spinal injuryDamage to the bones of the spine or to the spinal cord inside them, which can cause pain, numbness, weakness or paralysis below the injury.

More terms: Trauma and Injuries

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