Types of Skin Burns in High Voltage Electrical Exposure

Different skin burn patterns may be identified in a person exposed to high voltage electricity.

Type of Burn	Features
entrance and exit burns (source entrance and ground exit)	seen in direct contact to the electrical source, with current passing through body to ground, also seen in low voltage electrical exposures
arc burn	with very high voltages the current may jump in an arc from one point in the body to another
flash burn	from energy emission; first or second degree burn similar to a severe sunburn
thermal burn	ignited clothing or environmental materials
dendritic burn	complex skin pattern seen with very high voltage burns or lightning strikes resulting from damage to small cutaneous blood vessels and hemolysis

Examples of arc wounds:

(1) from ground to lower leg

(2) between the proximal and distal aspects of a bent limb

(3) between hand and forearm

With very high voltages a hand or foot at source or ground may autoamputate due to the severity of the tissue damage.

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