Identify all anatomical structures related to and/or that are being affected based on the patient case information. (i.e. tissues, organs, vessels, brain components, membranes)

Question

Reed was carving some wood for roasting marshmallows with a swiss army knife when his hand slipped and he sent the knife ripping through his skin on the posterior side of his hand. The knife cut deep along the back of the palm and ruptured the reticular layer of the dermis, subcutaneous fascia, through the muscle and caused a fracture in a metacarpal.

More info:

As the cut began to heal Reed noticed that areas of his skin near the wound no longer responded well to touch or vibrations. During the healing process bacteria entered the wound and were immediately swallowed by a specialized macrophage in the epidermis. After the wound healed and scar tissue was left, hair no longer grew in the region of the scar tissue.

Answer 1

Hey Raven! So this is a tricky question indeed, and requires us to think about all of the layers that are affected by this patient's injury.

In the question stem there are key things that will help us answer this:

-Injury involved reticular dermis, subq fascia, muscle, and bone --> skin, fascia, superficial vessels, radial artery/nerve, dorsal nerves, extensor tendons, intrinsic hand muscles, metacarpal bones

-The injured area no longer responds well to touch/vibration --> hints to nerve injury!

-Hair no longer grows in the region of the scar --> hints to damage of hair follicles!

Hope you found this helpful, best of luck!