MECHANISMS OF HEART INJURY INVOLVING A CHEST IMPACT

The objective was to study the heart itself in order to understand the mechanism of heart impact injuries. Eleven dogs and 34 rabbits were subjected to frontal thoracic impact with different impact velocities and compression response. The pressure changes in left ventricle during impact period, ECG and pathological changes were observed respectively. The injured heart showed spotty or striped hemorrhages in the ventricle endocardium close to papillary muscle and walves. Extensive bleeding and contusions on the anterior ventricle wall appeared in the severely injured heart. A high pressure impulse was recorded in left ventricle during the impact period. Heart rapture was found in the severely injured animals. Light microscopic examination showed interstitial bleeding and rupture of the myocardial fibers in the contusion area. The injury severity of the heart was well correlated with the viscous criterion. It was determined that the main reason of heart injuries is the local excessive and high speed deformation caused by the thoracic wall or lung impact together with the instantaneous pressure elevation in ventricle.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/11198060
• Authors:
  • Liu, Bowen
  • Wang, Zhangu
  • Weng, G
  • Li, Xiaopeng (Shaw)
  • 0000-0002-5264-3775
  • Xu, Hongli
• Publication Date: 1999

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 57-62
• Serial:
  • Journal of traffic medicine
  • Publisher: International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine
  • ISSN: 0345-5564

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compression tests; Deformation; Heart; Impacts; Injury severity; Injury types; Pathological processes; Velocity measurement
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00765402
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 25 1999 12:00AM