Answer the following question on electrical injuries What cellular components of
ID: 71931 • Letter: A
Question
Answer the following question on electrical injuries What cellular components of a cell are damaged in a thermal electrical injury, and what are cellular components are damaged in a nonthermal electrical injury? pH change is one common physical phenomenon in an electrical injury. What might be the choose of change in pH? What other physical phenomena are likely to be included in an electrical injury, and what are their consequences? How does the frequency of the electrical signal influence on the type of electrical injuries? Is there an equivalent circuit suitable for describing electrical injuries? If so, provide an example of injuries at DC and another example equivalent circuit for injuries at high frequencies, and discuss their differences.Explanation / Answer
Thermal electrical injury is also called electric burn. It occurs when electricity pass through the body. The electric energy that enters the body is converted into thermal energy. Electric burns cause more damage to deep tissues, than the superficial tissues. The pathological situation is due to cell lysis which results from cell membrane dissolution; disruption of electrochemical equilibrium inside and outside the cells, and cytokines that are released by the damaged cells. The cell is unable to hold electrolytes; the leaky membrane causes leakage of electrolytes. This results in electrolyte imbalance inside and outside of the cells.
The injury is difficult to view, as it rarely presents as a burn. The electric current passes through low-resistance tissues, in the body. It causes necrosis of the tissue all the way it passes. Necrosis is due to cell lysis and death.
Nonthermal electrical injury: This injury occurs when the electrical contact with the body is brief. The cellular changes that were recorded during nonthermal electrical injury are due to electroporation of cells, and are as follows:
Shrinkage of nucleus, dissolution of nuclear membrane
Swelling of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum
Myofilament dissolution
Increased number of heparin granules in nucleus
Conformational changes in membrane proteins
Formation of pores in cell membrane
(b) Electric currents lead to ionization of electrolytes in the body. The sodium and potassium channels get damaged. Delayed rectifier potassium channels are most damaged. The dysfunction of voltage gated ion channels lead to electrolyte imbalance, and a resulting change in pH. The pH drops, and extracellular pH becomes acidic. it may lead to acidosis.