Injury Severity Score (ISS)

A method of standardizing trauma severity based on anatomical injuries. The body is divided into 6 regions and the most severe injury in each body area is scored from No Injury (0 points) to Unsurvivable (6 points). The 3 highest body region scores are each squared and then the squares are totaled for a score that ranges from 0 to 75. E.g., 32 + 22 + 42 = 29. An ISS ?15 is commonly used as the definition of major trauma.