Surgery>>>>>The Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue
Question 3#

The area most amenable to salvage by resuscitative and wound management techniques following thermal injury is called the:

A. Zone of hyperemia
B. Zone of coagulation
C. Zone of stasis
D. Zone of scalding

Correct Answer is C

Comment:

Exposure of the skin to thermal extremes disrupts its primary function as a barrier to heat loss, evaporation, and microbial invasion. The depth and extent of injury are dependent on the duration and temperature of the exposure. The pathophysiology and management are discussed elsewhere in this book. Briefly, the epicenter of the injury undergoes a varying extent of necrosis (depending on the exposure), otherwise referred to as the zone of coagulation, which is surrounded by the zone of stasis, which has marginal perfusion and questionable viability. This is the area of tissue that is most amenable to salvage by appropriate resuscitative and wound management techniques, which would theoretically limit the extent of injury. The outermost area of skin shows characteristics similar to other inflamed tissues and has been designated the zone of hyperemia. The degree of burn corresponds to histologic layers of the affected dermis and correlates with management and prognosis pertaining to timeline of healing and magnitude of scarring.