Injury from thermal energy

Abstract

Thermal energy transfer is responsible for many different types of injuries, most of which are called burns. Common to all of these injuries is the basic injury model: all injuries require a hazardous energy source, a means of transferring the energy to the body, and susceptibility of the body to the amount of energy transferred to it. This paper develops and discusses a basic model of how certain types of injuries occur from thermal energy. Each of the three parts of the injury model is defined so that this material can be applied to a wide range of thermal injury situations.