Traumatology
Traumatology is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical treatment and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. It is often considered a subset of emergency medicine. Traumatology may also be known as accident surgery.
Wounds and injuries are assessed as being serious or not serious (a process known as triage) upon admission in Casualty, or Accident and Emergency departments (A and E), or indeed emergency rooms (ER) in the US. A wound is usually caused by mechanical force, or sometimes by chemical reactions as in the case of burns.
Factors in the assessment of wounds are:
- the nature of the wound, whether it is a laceration, abrasion, bruise or burn
- the size of the wound in length, width and depth
- the extent of the overall area of tissue damage caused by the impact of a mechanical force, or the reaction to chemical agents in, for example, fires or exposure to caustic substances.
Forensic physicians, as well as pathologists may also be required to examine wounds (traumas) on persons alive or deceased.