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Science Basics: Pressure sound on image

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Pressure
Ulcers
 
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Pressure ulcers

Lets take the example of a patient laying in bed.

If the body was flat like a block of wood, the pressure against the surface of the skin would be the same at all points. However, the surface of the body is certainly not flat and some parts of the body, like the hollow of the back, are not in contact with the bed at all. This means that those areas that are in contact experience a much higher pressure than we might otherwise expect.

The pressure may be high enough to obstruct blood flow through capillaries and if the pressure in not relieved the results can be cell death and the formation of a wound called a pressure ulcer.

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Page created: 2 March, 2004
Last updated: 25 October, 2013 2:10 PM
By: Gareth Peevers, Mark Foss