Which of the following statement(s) is/are true concerning the injury pattern in patients with blunt versus penetrating injuries?

a. Solid organs are most frequently injured following blunt trauma

c. Major vascular injuries occur much more commonly in penetrating trauma than with blunt abdominal trauma

d. Injury patterns for blunt abdominal trauma in children are different than adults whereas with penetrating trauma no such difference exists

Most series list the spleen as the most commonly injured intraabdominal organ after blunt trauma. However, the means of diagnosis may affect this finding since small liver injuries, often detected only on CT scan of the abdomen, may go unreported while splenic injuries are likely to be clinically significant and require surgical intervention. Solid organs are most frequently injured from blunt trauma since the sudden application of pressure to the abdomen is more likely to rupture a solid organ than a hollow viscus, and this accounts for the greater incidence of solid organ injury. More elastic tissues of young people tolerate trauma better than those of older people, and this accounts, in part, for the differences in injuries between children and adults with blunt abdominal trauma. Major vascular injuries occur in over 10% of patients sustaining penetrating trauma but occur in only approximately 2% of patients with blunt trauma.