Explain how the anatomical structures and their physiological function/dysfunction are interrelated normally and what is going wrong with the structures in this current patient case information.

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

Due to how deep the cut was through the back of the patients hand to the point where the bone fractured, the knife also would have cut through nerves breaking the impulses flowing from the area reducing touch/feel in that general area even following the healing stage. The patient will also have some scar tissue development reducing mobility and nerve sensation. The bacteria entering the site of the wound brought white blood cells to the area which is why the bacteria was "swallowed" by the macrophage as the bodies way of protecting itself and disposing of a potential infection. The hair no longer grows in the area d/t scar tissue because the hair follicles are no longer present in scar tissue as the are in the epidermis.