Despite the fact that most of the injuries to the integumentary system are non-life threatening, burns pose a serious issue to this organ. Burns can be caused by a number of things, such as heat, chemicals, radiation, friction, or electricity. Burns traditionally were classified as first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree burns, but are now being classified as superficial, superficial partial-thickness, deep-partial thickness, and full thickness burns as these are better categorized by need for surgery (Chen, Q., & Thouas, G. 2014). The extent of injury of each burn determines its classification. Superficial thickness burns have epidermis damage, partial thickness (superficial) includes damage to the papillary dermis, partial thickness (deep) includes damage to the reticular dermis, and full thickness burns include damage to the dermis and other tissue and can even include damage to muscle or bone.
