Polite Dissent

Nova #5 “Together”
Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, writers
Sean Chen, penciler (and maybe Brian Denham too)

What exactly is a “fifth-degree burn”?

Traditionally, burns were divided into first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree. First-degree burns are superficial and only affect the first layer of skin (the epidermis). There is redness, but no blistering (think of a typical sunburn). Second-degree burns involve the epidermis, but also involve some of the deeper skin layers as well. Blistering is common and they are quite painful. Third-degree burns involve the entire epidermis, dermis, and fat-layer of the skin. They usually show charring and have a firm, rubbery texture. Third degree burns are often painless because of destruction of the nerve endings.

I have seen some mention — mostly online — of “fourth-degree”, “fifth-degree”, and even”sixth-degree” burns. Fourth-degree burns are burns that are deep enough to destroy the tissues underlying the skin Some people are more specific and describe fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-degree burns. If the skin is completely destroyed, then it’s a fourth-degree burn. If muscle is destroyed as well, it’s a fifth-degree burn, and if bones are involved, then it is a sixth-degree burn. These aren’t very common terms, especially fifth- and sixth-degree burns. A MEDLINE search only shows a handful of results for fourth-degree burn, a single one for fifth-degree, and none for sixth-degree. Similarly, a Google Scholar search results in a fair number of results for fourth-degree, but none for fifth and just one for sixth. I suspect these terms are used mostly by academics, specialists, and people trying to look smarter than they are. For everyone else, the first-, second-, and third-degree classification you learned in elementary school should be sufficient.

A more recent way of classifying burns does away with “degrees” entirely and concentrates on the thickness of the damage. Burns are now described as superficial thickness, partial thickness (superficial or deep), or full thickness. Many doctors prefer these newer descriptions because they relate more closely to the prognosis and treatment of the burn than the previous method did.

On the other hand, we are talking about aliens here. Their definition of fifth degree burn could be entirely different from ours. Plus these are Kree, one of the most xenophobic and jingoistic races around. I suspect they “add 2″ to the degree of any non-Kree when assessing the wound, purely out of spite. (“Looks like a third-degree burn — but he appears to be human — so let’s cal it a fifth-degree burn”)