Lightning is persistently one of the leading causes of death caused by environmental or natural disaster. To understand the pathophysiology and treatment of lightning injuries one must first discount the innumerable myths, superstitions, and misconceptions surrounding lightning. The fundamental difference between high voltage electrical injury and lightning is the duration of exposure to curren...

Although lightning is an uncommon phenomenon in nature; it can cause many destructive incidents. In the event of a lightning strike, multiple organs particularly the cardiovascular systems are at risk of injury. Short-term mortality depends on its cardiac effects. In this paper, the authors report the development of myocardial infarction and pericardial effusion after lightning injury, a typica...

The principal results of triggered-lightning experiments conducted at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) at Camp Blanding, Florida, from 1993 through 2002 are reviewed. These results include (a) characterization of the close lightning electromagnetic environment, (b) first lightning return-stroke speed profiles within 400 m of ground, (c) new insights into the m...