Presentation The patient has fallen onto a coarse surface, such as a blacktop or macadam road. Most frequently, the skin of the face, forehead, chin, hands, and knees is abraded. When pigmented foreign particles are impregnated within the dermis, tattooing…
Presentation A patient comes to the emergency department or clinic with an earlobe torn by a sudden pull on an earring. Contributing factors might include previous lengthening of the earlobe hole because of long-term use of relatively heavy or dangling…
Presentation A patient is brought in by police officers after being subdued with a Taser. A Taser is a type of conducted electrical weapon (CEW) that fires two barbed darts using a compressed nitrogen charge. The darts penetrate light clothing…
Presentation A patient may present with focal tenderness, a palpable cord, and mild erythema over the course of a superficial vein. The risk factors for the development of a superficial venous thrombosis (superficial thrombophlebitis [ST]) are similar to those of…
Presentation After blunt trauma to the distal phalanx of any digit, a patient can develop a subungual hematoma. The hematoma is contained between the nail plate and the sterile matrix of the nail bed, which is highly vascularized. Unless artificial…
Presentation The patient had a mild to moderate crushing injury to a fingernail, such as being caught in a closing drawer or being struck by a heavy object. The pain was initially intense but rapidly subsided over the first few…
Presentation Small, moderate-velocity metal fragments can be released when a hammer strikes a second piece of metal, such as a chisel. The patient has noticed a stinging sensation and a small puncture wound or bleeding site and is worried that…
Presentation The patient is caught on a sharp splinter (usually wooden) and either cannot grasp it, has broken it trying to remove it, or has found that it is too large and painful to remove. The history may be somewhat…
Presentation Removal of rings from fingers or toes may be required due a variety of conditions that predispose to digital swelling, such as trauma, infection, burns, peripheral edema, or arthropod assault. Sometimes chronic tight-fitting rings begin to obstruct lymphatic drainage,…
Presentation Puncture wounds are common injuries, especially in children during the summer months when protective footwear may not be worn. The risk of a puncture wound is disproportional to its size, as irrigation is difficult and the tract of the…