Why are burns due to chemicals or intense cold also called “burns”? What do they have in common with the regular burns due to fire or heat?

Question

Not sure whether to flair this as biology or physics, but any idea why?

In: Biology

Answer 1

“Chemical burn” is a term that refers to the effect, rather than the process. It’s used to indicate the damage that was done to the skin or the organ, and the source of it.

In terms of damage, cells are damaged or ruptured over a large area of skin, and “first degree, second, or third” indicates how deeply into the various layers of the skin the damage is, basically the extent of the damage.

It’s more of a layman’s medical term; the doctors are concerned about the damage that was done, rather than the differences between heat, cold, and acids or bases.