Figure 1

Degrees of severity in the contusions. Injury without breakage produced by blunt etiological agents and are made up of concentric areas of different degrees of severity. From the cellular point of view, the first-degree contusion is a reversible injury. The alteration consists in small plasma bleb formation. In the second-degree contusion, a fusion of the blebs is produced and the plasma membrane permeability increases. In the third-degree contusion, cell death is produced by necrosis. At the same time, contusions can be superficial or deep. From the tissue point of view, edema is produced in the first-degree contusion; ecchymosis would be associated with edema in the second-degree contusion; an infarction would be produced in the third-degree contusion. Ecchymosis means that the red blood cells are the first blood cells to infiltrate the interstitial space in post-traumatic inflammation. Ecchymosis, also called a contusion or a bruise, due to its blue color, from the Latin word cardinus (bluish) explains its purple color.