Types of wounds

Types of wounds

LACERATION (tear) A wound can be caused by tearing the skin or soft body tissue resulting in a jagged edge wound. This could be caused by broken bottles or a tin/can. The severity of blood loss will be dependent on the size of the laceration.

PUNCTURE (Piercing) Caused by an object puncturing or piercing the skin such as a nail, a needle, a splinter or a shard of glass. A puncture wound does not usually cause excessive bleeding, as the wound tends to close up on itself. There is a high risk of infection and if severe can cause substantial damage internally.

ABRASION (Graze) A superficial wound where the topmost layer of skin has been scraped off. This tends to be caused by sliding or falling onto particularly rough surfaces. The bleeding from this wound tends to be a capillary bleed and will ooze from the site of the wound

PENETRATING (embedded) Caused by a knife or bullet entering the body, the object passes through the skin and disrupts the underlying tissue. There could be severe internal and external blood loss with this type of wound and there is also a high risk of infection.

CUT (Incision) Can be caused by the blade of a knife, scissors or sharp piece of glass for example. The wound itself will be neat in appearance and dependent on the severity may result in severe blood loss.

CONTUSION (bruise) In the majority of cases, is classed as a minor injury and will heal fairly quickly without treatment. A contusion occurs when blood vessels are damaged or broken. Contusions can be caused by a blow from a blunt object coming into contact with a part of the body (a hit or punch for example) or alternatively when the body comes into contact with a hard surface (falling over for example). If the cause is more severe then there is a possibility of extensive internal bleeding.