History Injuries to the small intestine have been described in the medical literature throughout history. Hippocrates was the first to describe intestinal injury from penetrating trauma. Aristotle is recognized as the first to report a small bowel perforation from blunt…
The stomach is a relatively thick-walled, well-vascularized organ that is variably positioned in the peritoneal cavity. Although partially protected by the lower rib cage, its size and location put the stomach at risk for injury, particularly with injury from penetrating…
Blunt abdominal injury Introduction The evaluation and management of the abdominal cavity in the blunt trauma patient has undergone radical change over the past several decades, due both to significant technological advances as well as a critical reappraisal of management…
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The abdominal cavity and the retroperitoneum lie immediately adjacent to one another, separated by a peritoneal lining. Some organs, such as the small bowel and the colon, have portions that lay within both the abdominal cavity and the retroperitoneum. Vascular…
Embryology, anatomy, and physiology The diaphragm is a musculotendinous organ that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity. This important organ arises from the confluence of the abdominal peritoneum and the parietal pleural during the first trimester of pregnancy.…
Incidence The incidence of esophageal injuries is low with most resulting from penetrating trauma. Esophageal trauma received little notice until the completion of World War II, with only 18 esophageal injuries recorded in the military records reviewed from that war…
Thoracic aortic injury represents a highly lethal injury pattern following both blunt and penetrating trauma. The vast majority of patients will not survive to undergo assessment and treatment, with an estimated 80% of victims dying at the scene. For those…
The heart and aorta and its great vessels are encased in the chest cavity, protected by the vertebral bodies, rib cage, clavicle, manubrium, and sternum. One of the earliest reports of thoracic vascular injury was described by Vesalius in 1557…
Penetrating cardiac injuries Historical perspective Cardiac injuries have been described since ancient times. The earliest descriptions of a cardiac injury are found in the Iliad and in the Edwin Smith Papyrus , written in approximately 3000 bc . Hippocrates stated…