Napalm burns

There used to be just first, second, and third-degree burns. But now, thanks to "napalm", both fourth and fifth-degree burns have been added to the list.

The United Nations has just completed a 52-page report on the uses and dangers of napalm, and has concluded that two more-severe categories of burns should be added to the medical vocabulary.

First, second and third-degree burns involve heat damage to the skin only. But now, napalm causes burns even more severe than that: a fourth-degree burn entails damage to the skin and muscle, and fifth-degree burns is a napalm wound penetrating both skin and muscle and affecting the bone.

The United States is one of the few nations in the world opposing a UN resolution which would outlaw the use of napalm in war.