Electrical injury

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Electrical injury:

An electrical current is very damaging to the human body since the body is a very good conducter of electricity. An electrical current can cause damage to the body in several ways:

Cardiac arrest due to the electrical effect on the heart
Massive muscle destruction from a current passing through the body
Thermal burns from contact with the electrical source

Reviewed last on: 1/15/2009
Jacob L. Heller, MD, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, Clinic. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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