No abstract available.
Hand ; Weapons

The TASER(R) gun has been used as an alternative one instead of lethal weapons, but death following Taser gun use has been reported. In Korea, the case of eye injury by Taser gun was reported, but the case of Taser gun-related death has not been known. Recently we experienced a case of lethal stab injury after the use of Taser gun. On the basis of this case and current available articles, we need to be aware of the potential injury patterns in cases of death or injury associated with Taser gun.
Eye Injuries ; Korea ; Weapons

No abstract available.
Gout* ; Hyperuricemia* ; Weapons*

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Humans ; Nuclear Weapons* ; Survivors*

Taser guns are considered less lethal weapon than pistols. However, several cases and animal experiments reported injuries associated with Taser guns. This report describes the case of a patient who suffered a penetrating eye injury after being shot by a Taser gun. It is important for the emergency physician to understand potential injuries that can be caused by Taser guns.
Animal Experimentation ; Emergencies ; Eye Injuries, Penetrating ; Firearms ; Humans ; Weapons

If we analogize any external physical force applied to victims of crimes involving violence, it would be possible to not only presume the mutual action between victims and suspects but also deduce more facts related to the cases. Therefore, in this study, defining the phenomenon of amino acid compounds in sweat spreading into clothes as impact marks, experiments using ninhydrin, 1,8-dizafluoren-9-one (DFO), 1,2-indanedione-zinc (1,2-IND-Zn) were conducted to determine developmental variations through change over time, which was not performed in previous studies. A 5-week period was set up including first damage as a variation factor, and materials in each action were developed using certain reagents. The level of specimen development depending on the change over time was identified. Thus, no changes were observed at each initial level of development.
Amino Acids* ; Clothing* ; Crime ; Indicators and Reagents* ; Ninhydrin ; Sweat ; Violence ; Weapons*

While the use of radioactive materials around the world offers a wide range of benefits in medicine, industry and research, radiation accidents also occur in world-wide. The objective of this article is to provide useful information about radiation accidents to the medical personnel. For this, I attempted to document the circumstances leading to the accident and the subsequent medical treatment and health consequences of the victims. Radiation accidents described in this article are Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, nuclear weapon accident in bikini atoll, major industrial accidents (Ir-192 Peruvian accident, Ir-192 internal contamination accident in Korea, Tokaimura accident in Japan) and Cs-137 contamination accident in Brazil. After reviewing major radiation accidents, I summarized the lessons to be learned from these accidents and presented the helpful institutes that can offer useful helps when radiation accident occurs.
Academies and Institutes ; Accidents, Occupational ; Brazil ; Korea ; Nuclear Power Plants ; Radioactive Hazard Release* ; Weapons

In this article, we will examine the theory and practice of encounters between oral history and narrative medicine in view of storytelling. Man is a storytelling animal. Our experience is understood, reconstructed and transmitted as a story and we can find the meaning of life through a story. Oral history is a specific practice and method of research. It refers to the process of recording interviews with people who have something to say, transcribing the record and interpretating the written text to conduct the study of the past. Therefore story is a basic tool of oral history. There has been also growing interest regarding the narrative features of medicine. Especially the illness narrative is one of the most powerful tools in this context. An illness narrative is a patient's story about his illness, including the meaning of the illness in his life. Illness as a specific event of life can only be understood through a story of patient. How can we combine oral history and narrative medicine altogether? We propose two subjects, one is 'healing' and the other is 'the social'. The goal of medicine is healing of suffered people. It is well known that storytelling has a healing effect. Conducting oral history is not only 'recovery history' but also is helping people to have a well organized memory and integrate that into his whole life story. The use of oral history as a means of empowerment should be extended referring the healing effect of medicine. On the other hand, modern medicine has a tendency to reduce the problem of health and illness as an individual one. However story of illness can reveal the dominance of modern biomedicine in the contemporary and have political implications. Oral history deals with memory. Personal memory can only be understood in the context of social and cultural backgrounds. Collective memory is necessary in building community history. Medicine should learn from oral history's social dimensions. In this context, life of KIM Hyeongyul who was activist for second generation Korean Atomic Bomb Victims will be a good example of encounters between oral history and narrative medicine.
Animals ; Hand ; History, Modern 1601- ; Humans ; Memory ; Narration ; Nuclear Weapons ; Power (Psychology)

PURPOSE: Our society is becoming more interested in domestic violence and proper care of those victims is required. This study was designed to develop a model of countermeasure against domestic violence that can be used in emergency department. METHODS: This prospective, clinical study was performed from Dec. 2000 to Aug. 2001 at the emergency department, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. Fifty-five patients of the 1665 female trauma patients were found to be victims of domestic violence during study period. We investigated the frequency of domestic violence in the patient's past, whether a weapon had been used, whether the assailant was an alcohol abuser, and whether he assaulted the victim in a drunken state or not. We analyzed correlation between these factors and severity injury of the patients. RESULTS: The average ISS of patients was 2.90+/-2.82, and 14 patients(25.8%) were admitted to hospital for treatment. Eighteen victims were reported to the police. Fourteen patients were injured with weapons, and in those cases, ISS and the hospital admission rates were marginallly higher than those not involving weapons(p=0.099). Police report rates in the weapon-using cases were 64.3%(9 people), which was considerably higher than those of nonweapons cases, 22.0%(p=0.007). No significant correlations exsisted between severity of patient's injury and frequency of domestic violence experienced in her past, assailant's alcohol history, and drunken assaulter. CONCLUSION: When weapons were involved, the police report rates were considerably higher. The medical personnel should immediately evaluate the patients's condition and provide a plan for her safety.
Domestic Violence* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Female ; Humans ; Police ; Prospective Studies ; Weapons

A human skull was discovered at the 16th-century drainage channel of market district ruins, one of the busiest streets in the capital of Joseon kingdom. By anthropological examination, we noticed the cut mark at the right occipital part of the cranium. Judging from the wound property, it might have been caused by a strong strike using a sharp-edged weapon. As no periosteal reaction or healing signs were observed at the cut mark, he might have died shortly after the skull wound was made. We speculated that this might have been of a civilian or soldier victim who died in a battle or the decapitated head of prisoner. This is the first report about the discovery of the skull damaged by sharp-edged weapon at the archaeological sites in the capital city of Joseon Kingdom.
Drainage ; Head ; Humans ; Korea* ; Military Personnel ; Prisoners ; Prisons ; Seoul* ; Skull* ; Strikes, Employee ; Weapons* ; Wounds and Injuries