 Blood is carried around the body in a transport system of arteries, capillaries, and veins, and any damage to this network results in bleeding. Bleeding can be both external and internal. External bleeding involves a break to the skin surface, known as a wound, which can take may different forms. Internal bleeding is bleeding that occurs inside the body whe4n there is no external injury for the blood to escape from. The most common form of internal bleeding is a small bruise from a minor impact. Heavy impact from car accidents, fights, or falls, for example, can lead to serious internal bleeding, which may kill.
TRANSPORT OF BLOOD
Arteries have thick muscular walls, that contract. This pushes blood out from the heart under pressure. The blood contained within them is full of oxygen, which has been collected from the lungs, and the main function of the arteries is to take this oxygen-rich blood to the organs and body tissue. Because the blood is under pressure, and is full of oxygen, arterial bleeding is characterized by bright red blood pumping from an injury. Arterial bleeding is very serious as blood is rapidly lost.
Veins have thin walls and return blood from the organs and tissues to the heart. They do not have muscles of their own and rely on the actions of the muscles around them to squeeze the blood around the body, they have a series of one-way valves that ensure a one-way flow. When these valves deteriorate, blood pools in the veins, making them swell. This weakens the vein wall, resulting in a condition known as varicose veins. While the blood loss from bleeding vein does not tend to be as quick as bleeding artery, it does nonetheless have the potential to be very serious and even fatal injury and because it has little or no oxygen stored in the blood to be pushed out into the body tissues and organs.
TYPE OF INJURY
Small blood loss is very common and rarely needs much treatment. Large blood loss may lead, if untreated, to shock and potentially, death.
Incisions
Clean and deep cuts characterized by paper cuts and knives are known as incisions. While these wounds do not tend to bleed a lot there may be underlying damage to tendons and other tissues,
Lacerations
are jagged wounds, which tend to bleed a lot.
 Punctured wounds
are, as their names suggests, deep injuries caused by a pointes object such as a knitting needle. They do not tend to bleed a great deal but they carry the risk of infection because dirt can be carried a long way into the tissue. There is also a greater risk damage to vital organs such as the lungs or liver.
 Scrapes
are commonplace injury and involve damage to the top layers of the skin. They do not cause major blood loss but are often dirty, because grazes tend to have debris embedded with them.
HOW DOES THE BODY STOP BLEEDING?
When a blood vessel is torn or cut, a series of chemical reactions takes place that causes the formation of a blood clot to seal the injury. Components of the blood known as platelets clump together at the injury site. Damaged tissue and platelets release chemicals that activate proteins called clotting factors. These react with a special protein (fibrinogen) to form a mesh of filaments that traps blood cells. These form the basis of a blood cells to fight infection and specialized blood cells that help promote repair and recovery. A scab will form to protect the wound until repair has taken place. When applying pressure to the site of a wound you are helping the clotting process.
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