Types of Wounds

There are several ways wounds can be classified. 

Acute and chronic describes the amount of time it takes for a wound to heal. Acute wounds go through the normal healing process and show signs of repair within four weeks. Chronic wounds take much longer to heal because of complications such as infection or diabetes. 

There are six basic types of wounds: 

1. Abrasions occur when skin is rubbed or scraped off by friction.

2. Incisions are made by cutting with a sharp object. This includes wounds created during surgery. Incisions are not likely to become infected since the free flow of blood washes out most microorganisms. 

3. Lacerations are wounds that were torn by blunt objects. 

4. An injury to the skin due to heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, or radiation is called a burn. 

5. Puncture wounds leave a small hole while penetrating into the tissue. 

6. Avulsions, a tearing away of tissue from a body part, always involve heavy bleeding. 

All wounds either fall under these categories or are a mixture of these types. 

I will be focusing on wounds that have an outer manifestation. This is because laser scanners are used to create models of the outside surface of an object.
The first four in the list have the greatest applicability for this project. 

For my next post, I will go into greater detail about the basics of laser scanners and how they have been used in the past for medical purposes.