Fragments and any other projectiles with sharp irregular surfaces have been shown to cut clothing materials and skin efficiendy, and also transfer notable quantities of these contaminants into wounds.
Low velocity projectiles regularly transfer such ragged pieces of clothing and skin contaminants into wounds. When the fragment velocity is raised and a temporary cavity is formed by the projectile, the nature of clothing contamination is further altered, fibres and large pieces of material may be finely shredded and rapidly dispersed due to the formation of the temporary cavity, resulting in contamination of tissues far distant from the permanent wound track. If the temporary cavity involves the exit wound, substantial quantities of material may also be sucked into the wound from the exit hole, creating even greater widespread contamination, and the potential for infection at multiple sites.
Wounded North Korean prisoners of war showed the same problem in exaggerated form, their injuries frequendy infested with hordes of maggots. Both the design and construction of a bullet determine the kind of wound created. Most bullets are long and thin, and are spun along their long axis to provide stability, and accuracy.
After entering soft tissue, however, spin stabilisation is overcome and bullets become unstable. They may tumble and tum through degrees, thus increasing the surface area of tissue presenting to the forward moving missile. This results in significandy greater tissue damage. If the wound track through tissue is long enough, all bullets will tumble. As a bullet tumbles, it may become deformed or break up — especially if it contacts hard, high density bone.
Bullet wounds in the batdefield are generally caused by fully jacketed military ammunition as defined by the Hague Declaration of To meet this requirement, bullets designed for military use are comprised of lead and steel components clad within a metal jacket. As a result, it has been suggested that designers of military small arms, ostensibly formulating bullets to prevent flattening deformity of the missile, use alternatives such as bullets which readily fragment in order to cause equivalent tissue effects.
Even if not designed as such, many bullets may nevertheless fragment at close range if they strike bone. The tendency to break-up is governed by the construction of the bullet, principally the thickness of the Jacket and the efficiency of the base in preventing extrusion.
The disruption of the bullet into small pieces produces irregular fragments, each with large potential for energy transfer. A temporary cavity around the fragmenting bullet will be associated with multiple diverging wound tracks. Multiple lacerations of the tissues surrounding the original wound track are the result.
When scattering bone fragments are combined with bullet fragmentation, widespread disruption of soft tissues is produced within the vicinity of the bone — including any adjacent blood vessels, nerves and other soft tissues.
An explosive munition, on detonation, produces a transient pressure that can propagate through the air at an initial velocity exceeding the speed of sound It may rupture eardrums and severely bruise and rupture both the lungs and other gas tilled organs such as the intestines , leaving no tell-tale external marks on the victim. It can also liberate fragments of debris from the environment that may act as penetrating missiles.
Furthermore, the mass of moving blast wind may forcibly blow the casualty against solid objects in the area, thereby inducing blunt injury as well. A typical Fuel-Air Explosive FAE consists of a cylindrical container of a liquid fuel, such as ethylene oxide or propylene oxide, the walls of which are scored so that the container can break apart in a controlled manner.
It also contains a burster charge located at the center, which extends along the long axis of the container. When the burster charge detonates, the contents of the fuel container will be dispersed as a mist-like disk shaped fuel-air cloud over the ground. It flows around objects such as trees and rocks, and into structures or field fortification ventilation systems. Next, a small secondary charge ignites the fuel-air mixture. The vast dimensions of the FAE cloud ensure that the blast effects will occur over a much wider area than that affected by any conventional explosive munitions.
The FAE blast wave can go around comers, penetrating the apertures in bunkers, the open hatches in armoured fighting vehicles, and the hollows of trenches and foxholes. In Afghanistan, such FAE munitions, labelled vacuum bombs, comprised a significant proportion of the munitions dropped by Soviet aircraft. Since the Vietnam War, FAE weapons have been improved so that their blast effects now rival that of a small tactical nuclear warhead.
There are other mechanisms of injury predominandy confined to the military spectrum. These include bums from napalm, incendiaries, flame munitions, and white phosphorus. Crush injuries also occur in greater abundance in the military setting. The implications of crush injury extend to needed repair of skin, bone, muscle, blood vessels, and nerves, as well as the possibility of treatment for kidney failure, a common result of this form of trauma.
In addition, military inhalation injuries may result. Other inhalation injuries result from the breathing of rocket fuel combustion fumes, and environmental obscurant agents such as picric acid and anthracene- all common to the modem batdefield, with few equivalents in peacetime.
Most peacetime models and experiences are of limited value when preparing medical officers for service in the combat setting. Many of the enormous peacetime technical advances in modem surgery — those which have transformed the oudook for patients born with congenital abnormalities, or those suffering from such degenerative conditions as arthritis, heart disease, and cancer — do not have immediate application on the batdefield!
The wartime phenomena of large numbers of casualties which are generated simultaneously, many bearing multiple wounds and concurrent injuries from the entire spectrum of militarily unique weapons, are not ordinarily seen in peacetime medical practice. They differentiate and complicate casualty management in the military medical field system. Indeed, the very nature of warfare precludes a neat transformation in place from such successful peacetime models of healthcare. These are best exemplified by two contrasting hypothetical examples:.
Learn more. I accept. Toggle navigation Donate. Search Search. Violence and conflict have been a feature of human life throughout history. Starting with simple weapons , people have developed ever more advanced methods to kill one another. Technology has dominated warfare since the early s, and an astounding million people may have been killed during the 25 biggest conflicts of the 20 th century. In this high-spending game, less capable opponents are soon reduced to guerrilla tactics , and human cost of war remains high.
The US has embraced Full Spectrum Dominance, the belief that superior technology in all fields guarantees victory, though critics disagree. This has led to ever more sophisticated and expensive aircraft and a proliferation of unmanned systems, including robot aircraft to attack targets. Future plans may include swarms of flying robots , while an existing desert race for driverless vehicles may pave the way for autonomous supply vehicles.
The infantry of the future may be kitted out with powered exoskeletons and accompanied by robotic pack mules. One of the most ambitious schemes is to build a shield to defend the US from ballistic missiles. This would rely on a combination of airborne lasers and missiles, but the laser programme has proved more challenging than expected, as has hitting a missile with another missile.
But lasers have succeeded in shooting down tactical rockets and even artillery shells. Neutrino beams that could travel through the Earth and zap nuclear missiles on the other side of the planet have even been envisioned. However, many critics doubt whether a missile defence scheme could work, and suggest that intercepted warheads might fall on Europe, Canada or middle America.
The debate between weapons developers and their critics is also intense in the field of non-lethal or less-lethal weapons, intended to incapacitate without killing. Controversial Taser guns — delivering an electric shock via wires — are widely used by police and military. Trophy Active Protection System. CH-4 and Wing Loong drones. Weaponized small commercial drones.
Weaponized social media. P-8 Poseidon.
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