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Wounds & Bleeding


6.2 Types & Severity of Bleeding The amount of blood loss from a wound will depend on which blood vessels have been damaged.


Arteries – Produce bright red highly oxygenated blood which “spurts” out in time with each heartbeat. A lot of blood loss occurs when arteries have been damaged.


Veins – This blood loss “gushes” rather than spurts as the blood is under less pressure as it returns to the heart. The blood is darker red in colour but the loss can still be significant.


Capillaries – All wounds have some blood loss from the capillaries. This type of bleeding “oozes” at the site of the wound and usually only a small amount of blood loss results.


“The average adult has around 1 pint of blood per stone in body weight (1 Litre per 13 Kilo).


Losing any blood results in the body trying to


compensate, usually by speeding up the heart rate and directing blood away from non vital areas of the body, like the skin.


If we lose more than a third of our blood our blood pressure falls, insufficient blood reaches our brains and we begin to die”


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