A 20-year-old waitress spilled hot coffee and burned her right forearm. When assessing the burn, you note a full-thickness burn surrounded by partial-thickness burns. She complains of pain in the surrounding partial-thickness burn, but not in the center where the full-thickness burn is located. As an EMT, you recognize that the patient does not localize pain to the center of the burn because of:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pain receptors (nociceptors) are located in the dermis layer of the skin. In a full-thickness burn, these pain receptors are destroyed, resulting in the lack of pain sensation. However, in the partial-thickness burns surrounding the full-thickness burn, the pain receptors are still intact and cause pain sensation. Therefore, the lack of pain sensation in the center of the burn is due to the destruction of pain receptors in the epidermis and dermis layer.

A 20-Year-Old Waitress Spilled Hot Coffee and Burned Her Right