What part of the body bleeds the most

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Get emergency medical help for severe bleeding. This is very important if you think there is internal bleeding. Internal bleeding can very quickly become life threatening. Immediate medical care is needed.

Serious injuries may cause heavy bleeding. Sometimes, minor injuries can bleed a lot. An example is a scalp wound.

You may bleed a lot if you take blood-thinning medicine or have a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia. Bleeding in such people requires medical attention right away.

The most important step for external bleeding is to apply direct pressure. This will likely stop most external bleeding.

Always wash your hands before (if possible) and after giving first aid to someone who is bleeding. This helps prevent infection.

Try to use latex gloves when treating someone who is bleeding. Latex gloves should be in every first aid kit. People allergic to latex can use nonlatex gloves. You can catch infections, such as viral hepatitis or HIV/AIDS, if you touch infected blood and it gets into an open wound, even a small one.

Although puncture wounds usually don't bleed very much, they carry a higher risk for infection. Seek medical care to prevent tetanus or other infection.

Abdominal, pelvic, groin, neck, and chest wounds can be very serious because of the possibility of severe internal bleeding. They may not look very serious, but can result in shock and death.

• Seek medical care right away for any abdominal, pelvic, groin, neck, or chest wound.
• If organs are showing through the wound, do not try to push them back into place.
• Cover the injury with a moist cloth or bandage.
• Apply gentle pressure to stop the bleeding in these areas.

Blood loss can cause blood to collect under the skin, turning it black and blue (bruised). Apply a cool compress to the area as soon as possible to reduce swelling. Do not place ice directly on the skin. Wrap the ice in a towel first.

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Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to .

Why do we bleed? – Michael, age 9, Seattle, Washington

“Ouch!” I cried out, looking down at where my family’s puppy, Hercules, had just bitten me. Two tiny dots of red started to bloom where he had sunk his canine teeth into my finger.

“Bad dog,” I said to him. He looked up at me sheepishly. “Well, I guess I’m a bad human for putting my finger near your mouth,” I admitted. He wagged his tail and licked my arm.

I put pressure on my finger until the bleeding stopped. Three weeks later the area had healed, and we had taught Hercules to heel, too!

I am a doctor who specializes in hematology – the study of blood. Here, I’ll share with you how blood travels through the body, how we bleed and, more importantly, how we stop bleeding.

What’s inside blood?

The blood in our bodies is a complex fluid. It contains red blood cells, which bring oxygen to our body’s tissues; white blood cells, our body’s infection-fighting army; and platelets, which clump together to help stop bleeding. A special protein called hemoglobin in red blood cells is what gives our blood its beautiful red color.

The yellowy, liquid portion of blood is called plasma. Most of it – over 90% of it – is water, but the remaining portion contains molecules that help our blood clot and stop bleeding.

Where does blood live and where does it travel?

The bone marrow, located in the center of our bones, is the factory that makes the cells circulating in our bloodstream.

Once blood cells are made, they move into blood vessels – rubbery tubes that form roads traveling through our entire body. Veins are the vessels that carry blood to the heart, while arteries carry blood to the rest of the body. The biggest vessels can be the width of a garden hose, while the smallest can be tinier than a human hair. Blood travels 12,000 miles through the vessels of an adult every single day!

The heart is the powerful engine that pushes blood through those tubes to deliver oxygen and nutrients to our organs and skin. First, the right side of the heart pumps the blood into the lungs, which contains oxygen from the air we breathe. Here, the hemoglobin in red blood cells grabs oxygen and take it back to the heart.

The left side of the heart then pumps that oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. After red blood cells drop off their oxygen cargo, they are pumped back to the right side of the heart to get more oxygen and repeat their tour of the body again.

Why do we bleed?

The skin forms a protective layer over our bodies. When that layer is damaged, the blood vessels immediately underneath it are torn, allowing blood to leak out.

A small cut tears just the small vessels near the skin, and only a tiny amount of blood drips out. A deep cut might tear larger vessels and cause more bleeding. When we bang an arm or a leg, tearing the smaller vessels without damaging our skin, blood collects under the unbroken skin to form a bruise.

Because the heart is still pumping blood throughout the body, more blood will continue to leak out until the damage is patched up. To stop the leaking, a torn blood vessel releases chemicals that activate proteins that clump together and form a plug to fill the hole. This seals up the blood vessel and prevents more blood from getting out. You’ve seen the results of this on your skin before: the scab that forms on top of a scrape or cut.

Applying pressure to a wound helps stop bleeding because it pushes the walls of the vessel together to slow the flow of blood. This helps form a clot to plug the tear, starting the healing process.

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