The term “traumatology” could be translated as “accident medicine.” Traumatology deals with the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of wounds and injuries. Psychological trauma also falls under this term. Psychological trauma refers to severe emotional distress, as well as the resulting symptoms and long-term effects.
Here you will find further information as well as a selection of traumatology specialists and centers.
The term “trauma” comes from Greek and means “injury, wound.” On the one hand, doctors use it to describe a harmful (traumatic) impact on the body. This could be an accident or psychological trauma, for example. On the other hand, the resulting damage is also considered a trauma, such as a
Trauma is classified as either mono- or polytrauma, depending on the number of organs and tissues affected.
Mono-trauma (mono = single) refers to an injury to a single organ, which in most cases is not life-threatening. This is primarily because the circumstances of the accident in cases of poly-trauma are generally much less severe than in cases of mono-trauma. However, there are also very severe and life-threatening single injuries, for which the term “barytrauma” (“bary” = severe) has become established. Examples of life-threatening single injuries include:
The life-threatening nature of these single injuries stems, for example, from the importance of the affected organ (traumatic brain injuries) or the potential for massive blood loss, which can reach considerable proportions (pelvic injuries).
“Polytrauma” refers to a severe, simultaneous injury to multiple organs. It is a multiple injury and, as the name (“poly” = many) suggests, affects several areas of the body or organ systems. Polytrauma is fundamentally a severe and life-threatening condition in which either all of the injuries combined or a single one of them is life-threatening.
There are many different types of trauma. What they all have in common is the application of force to the body, which endangers physical integrity. This force can be broadly divided into physical and psychological violence.
Physical violence includes:
effects.
Psychological trauma includes all situations of psychological stress, such as
Mechanical trauma can occur in a wide variety of ways. Most often, it results from the use of weapons or sharp objects, but it can also be caused by bare hands.
Stab or cut wounds, in particular, can lead to severe bleeding when sharp objects sever major arteries.
Gunshot wounds can also lead to very serious consequences and become life-threatening. The danger of gunshot wounds is that once the bullet enters the body, it continues to travel and can cause massive soft-tissue damage. This tissue damage is often significantly larger and more severe than the usually small entry wound would suggest.
Blunt trauma results from the application of force without breaking the skin. This can occur, for example, from blows with a fist or hard objects, but also from joint dislocations. Blunt injuries can be very severe, yet they are often much more difficult to diagnose than penetrating injuries. This is because penetrating injuries are visible to the naked eye, whereas with blunt trauma, most of the damage occurs internally.
So-called high-velocity injuries—which are injuries caused by the impact of very high kinetic energy—also fall under the category of mechanical injuries. They occur whenever the body is moving at high speed and is abruptly brought to a stop. Typical examples of high-velocity trauma include car and traffic accidents as well as sports accidents, such as skiing or bicycle racing.
Finally, bite wounds also fall under the category of mechanical injuries; they are most commonly caused by animal bites. However, human bites are not uncommon and are often much more difficult to treat. This is because bite injuries caused by humans carry a significantly higher risk of infection.
Physical trauma refers to all injuries and their consequences resulting from extreme and pathological environmental influences. These include, among others
Chemical trauma refers to injuries to the body caused by exposure to toxic substances. These substances can have a harmful effect on the body in liquid, solid, or gaseous form. This can occur externally through the skin’s surface or internally through the mucous membranes and the bloodstream.
Chemical trauma includes, in particular,
The causes of psychological trauma can be very diverse, which is why only a few examples are listed below:
Trauma surgeons and emergency physicians are responsible for treating all physical consequences of trauma. Trauma surgery and emergency medicine are broad fields, and trauma physicians must be qualified in many areas. These include, first and foremost,
One of the most important tasks in trauma surgery is the treatment of injuries to the musculoskeletal system. These include, for example, bone fractures or muscle and tendon injuries.
The boundaries between the fields of trauma surgery and orthopedics are fluid. For this reason, these specialty training programs were merged in Germany in 2005 (“Specialist in Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery”).
The primary goal of traumatology is to avert an acute threat to life and to manage any potential complications. Afterward, the patient is usually initially cared for in the intensive care unit.
Patients with multiple trauma must be cared for in the hospital by a well-trained and experienced team of specialists. This team includes, for example, the following specialists:
Such injuries often affect a wide variety of body regions and organ systems. Therefore, such a team consists of physicians from various specialties; the list above could be extended indefinitely.
Depending on the severity of the trauma, rehabilitation measures are necessary (often lasting months or years). These are carried out by physical and occupational therapists.
Patients who have suffered psychological trauma receive psychotherapeutic treatment within the field of psychotraumatology. Specialists in psychiatry are responsible for this. Depending on the type and severity of the trauma, various trauma therapies are available.
The various therapeutic methods aim to:
This includes, for example, behavioral therapy. After therapy, the patient should feel able to control the symptoms of trauma, limit them, or resolve them.
Every physician listed in the Leading Medicine Guide has attained the highest level of training and certification within their respective medical specialty society. Furthermore, we contacted this physician based, among other factors, on their case volume (surgeries, treatments, and therapies), which we determined by cross-referencing various publicly available sources. Following discussions with the selected physicians and the directors of the medical facilities, as well as a subsequent internal review, they were admitted to the Leading Medicine Guide.
The quality assurance of the Leading Medicine Guide is further ensured by 8 admission criteria. Each member must meet at least 6 of them:
