Puncture Wound – Caused by an object that penetrated the skin and underlying layers, such as a nail, needle or knife. Contusion – Also known as a bruise, this is a blunt trauma damaging tissue under the surface of the skin. Crushing Injuries – Caused by a great or extreme amount of force applied over a period of time. The extent of a crushing injury may not immediately present itself. Ballistic Trauma – Caused by a projectile weapon such as a firearm. This may include two external wounds (entry and exit) and a contiguous wound between the two.The pattern of injury, evaluation and treatment will vary with the mechanism of the injury. Blunt trauma causes injury via a shock effect; delivering energy over an area. Wounds are often not straight and unbroken skin may hide significant injury. Penetrating trauma follows the course of the injurious device. As the energy is applied in a more focused fashion, it requires less energy to cause significant injury. Any body organ, including bone and brain, can be injured and bleed. Bleeding may not be readily apparent; internal organs such as the liver, kidney and spleen may bleed into the abdominal cavity. The only apparent signs may come with blood loss. Bleeding from a bodily orifice, such as the rectum, nose, or ears may signal internal bleeding, but cannot be relied upon. Bleeding from a medical procedure also falls into this category. Medical condition
"Medical bleeding" denotes hemorrhage as a result of an underlying medical condition (i.e.
causes of bleeding that are not directly due to trauma). Blood can escape from blood vessels as a result of 3 basic patterns of injury:
Intravascular changes – changes of the blood within vessels (e.g. ↑ blood pressure, ↓ clotting factors)
Intramural changes – changes arising within the walls of blood vessels (e.g. aneurysms, dissections, AVMs, vasculitides)
Extravascular changes – changes arising outside blood vessels (e.g. H pylori infection, brain abscess, brain tumor)The underlying scientific basis for blood clotting and hemostasis is discussed in detail in the articles, coagulation, hemostasis and related articles. The discussion here is limited to the common practical aspects of blood clot formation which manifest as bleeding. Some medical conditions can also make patients susceptible to bleeding. These are conditions that affect the normal hemostatic (bleeding-control) functions of the body. Such conditions either are, or cause, bleeding diatheses. Hemostasis involves several components. The main components of the hemostatic system include platelets and the coagulation system. Platelets are small blood components that form a plug in the blood vessel wall that stops bleeding. Platelets also produce a variety of substances that stimulate the production of a blood clot. One of the most common causes of increased bleeding risk is exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The prototype for these drugs is aspirin, which inhibits the production of thromboxane. NSAIDs inhibit the activation of platelets, and thereby increase the risk of bleeding. The effect of aspirin is irreversible; therefore, the inhibitory effect of aspirin is present until the platelets have been replaced (about ten days).