page_title: Exsanguination
section_title: Injuries
hierarchical_section_title: Exsanguination / Causes / Injuries
caption_attribution_description: Front of right thigh, showing surface markings for bones, femoral artery and femoral nerve.
context_page_description: Exsanguination is losing enough blood to cause death. A person does not have to lose all of their blood to exsanguinate. People can die from losing half to two-thirds of their blood.
  The average adult has about 4 to 6 liters of blood in their body. The average man has more blood than the average woman, and people who weigh more or are taller than others have more blood. This means a person can die from losing 2 ¹/₂ to 4 liters of blood. To compare, this is five to eight times as much blood as people usually give in a blood donation.
  Children and babies have much less blood than adults, and can exsanguinate by losing much less blood than adults.
  Exsanguination is often called bleeding to death or bleeding out. It is a medical emergency.
context_section_description: Exsanguination can be caused by trauma (injuries).  Out of all people who die from injuries, 30-40% die from exsanguination.  Up to half of these people (33-56%) die before they even get to the hospital.
  Penetrating trauma (an injury where something breaks the skin) is one of the most common causes of exsanguination.  This is especially true for gunshot wounds to places like the heart, chest, or head, which all have major blood vessels in them.
  Other injuries that can cause exsanguination include:
  Injuries which cut major arteries, like the aorta, carotid artery (in the neck), or femoral artery (in the groin and legs)
  Motor vehicle accidents
  Amputation of an arm or leg
  A person can exsanguinate from internal bleeding if:
  They are bleeding into their chest or abdomen (for example, because of blunt force trauma)
  They break their pelvis
  They break both of their femurs (thigh bones)
  Exsanguination is one of the most common causes of death in soldiers at war.  It is usually caused by gunshot wounds, motor vehicle accidents, or explosions.
caption: Injuries that hurt major arteries, like the femoral artery (in red), can cause exsanguination
exif: {}