Head
There are around 1 million people each year who require emergency medical care as a result of head injury. Road traffic accidents alone are the major cause of head injuries but other frequent causes are sports injuries, falls, work accidents and violent assaults.

Eyes
The eyes are complex organs that allow us to see. They can be bruised, scratched or cut and any damage to the eye or the surrounding bone or tissue may cause temporary or permanent impairment or loss of sight.

Ears
The ears are not only responsible for us being able to hear but play an important role in balance. Damage to the outer ear (Auricle) tends to be cosmetic but if the inner ear is damaged by perforation, noise or disease hearing and balance may be affected temporarily or permanently.

Nose
Injury to the nose is almost always a result of a direct blow to the nose. They can occur during sports, play, road traffic accidents, fights or assaults.

Mouth
Injuries to the mouth may involve the teeth, jaw, lips, tongue, inner cheeks, gums, roof of the mouth (hard or soft palates). The mouth has a rich blood supply and cuts, lacerations and wounds are therefore liable to bleed profusely however, small cuts or scrapes inside the mouth tend to heal quickly and even larger cuts heal quickly without intervention. Stitches are usually only required inside the mouth for loose flaps of tissue or for gaping wounds.

Neck
The neck supports the weight of the head, joins the head to the torso, carries the sensory and motor information from the brain to the rest of the body and contains major blood vessels, vital organs and glands. In order to provide the flexibility of movement necessary to use the eyes, ears, nose and mouth to maximum effect, the neck is very slender and this means that all of the essential components it contains are confined to a narrow area with little protection, making them extremely vulnerable to injury.

Arm
The bones of the arm include the humerus (upper arm bone), and the radius and ulna (forearm). The upper end (head) of the humerus is located into the socket of the shoulder (the glenoid fossa) and the lower end articulates with the radius and ulna at the elbow. The upper ends of the radius and ulna articulate each other and also with the capitulum and trochlea of the humerus respectively with the upper end of the ulna forming the prominence of the elbow. The lower end of the radius articulates with the scaphoid and lunate bones at the wrist and is connected by a fibro-cartilaginous disc to the lower end of the ulna. As well as connecting the ulna to the radius this radioulnar disc forms part of the wrist joint. The radius and ulna play an important part in positioning the hand.

Wrist
The wrist is made up of the lower ends of the radius and ulna (the two bones of the forearm) and eight carpal bones; scaphoid or navicular, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate and hamate; along with the many ligaments that connect them together to form this complex joint.

Hand
The hand is made up of a broad palm (metacarpus) with 5 digits (4 fingers and a thumb) and is attached to the forearm by the wrist joint. The palm has 5 bones and a further 14 bones make up the fingers and the thumb. The thumb is opposable, unlike the other fingers, which enables it to turn back against the other digits, improving its grip and enabling the fingers to hold objects that would otherwise prove difficult.

Torso
The majority of the major organs of the body are situated in the ventral cavity of the body where they are contained and protected by the ribs, sternum and pelvic girdle. The ventral body cavity is subdivided in two by the diaphragm to form the superior thoracic cavity in the chest and the inferior abdominopelvic cavity in the lower torso.

Upper Leg (Thigh)
The thigh is the upper part of the leg which extends from the groin to the knee. The thigh bone, or femur, is the longest and strongest bone of the skeleton and at its upper end forms part of the hip where it locates into the pelvis at the acetebulum. The lower end of the femur forms part of the knee joint.

Knee
The knee is a complex joint between the upper and lower leg bones of the femur, fibula and tibia, and includes the patella (knee cap). The bones are held together and articulate with the help of muscle, cartilage, ligaments and fluid. The knee bears the most of the weight of the body and is therefore the joint most prone to injury and arthritis.

Lower Leg (Calf)
The lower leg contains two long bones the tibia, the larger of the two bones, and the fibula which runs alongside the tibia. The tibia is commonly referred to as the shin bone. The calf muscles are divided into several compartments and their primary function is to extend the toes and flex the ankle.

Ankle
The ankle is the joint at the lower ends of the tibia and fibula (lower leg) to the talus bone of the foot and is bound by ligaments. The ankle is responsible for moving the toes up and down but is unable to rotate. It supports weight of the body (with the knee) and is therefore liable to injury.

Foot
The talus, or ankle bone, forms the ankle joint where it meets with the bones of the lower leg and the calcanus, or heel bone, sits underneath the talus. The smaller navicular and cuboid bones join the long phalanges in the middle of the foot to which the toes, or metatarsals, attach. If the injury to the foot is severe it may cause long term disability.