Physiology, Trauma

Excerpt

Trauma is defined as a tissue injury that occurs more or less suddenly due to violence or accident and is accountable for initiating hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and immunologic and metabolic responses responsible for restoring homeostasis. Although there are several different mechanisms of injury, trauma can be categorized broadly into 3 groups: penetrating, blunt, and deceleration trauma. There is a significant overlap in the causes, outcomes, and body’s response to the different injury types. However, a common theme is the body’s autonomic nervous system activation. It is also important to note that each person responds differently to trauma, and underlying chronic medical conditions can alter normal physiologic responses. There is another entity, trauma-induced coagulopathy, which presents in trauma patients.