blunt+force

Back to Cellular Biology Hematoma of the thigh caused by blunt force injury. Semi-useless trivia: there are two kinds of hematomas I have seen in surgery; hematomas that collect in a potential space, like an epidural bleed, or a hemopneumothorax, and hematomas that leak into tissues, like muscles. The problem with the second variety is that they can't be drained, so you will often have to do a fasciotomy to prevent compartment syndrome. The fasciotomy and skin remain open until enough of the blood can be absorbed that the fascia and skin can be closed without causing ischemia. Icky, and pretty painful for the patient as well.... My guess is that this photo is a bit of both, the center bulge can probably be drained, but the tissues are full of blood as well, as evidenced by the deep discoloration on the borders. This patient's broken femur can't be fixed until the soft tissue envelope improves.

Crush injury: No, this isn't an amputated arm, its in surgical drapes. (See the hemastat?)