cheerfulI originally posted this at
ask_a_nurse but due to the slightly violent nature of the question, made the mod there (understandably) a bit nervous about answering. So, I turn to you!What I'm looking for is some information about both the body in terms of neck and head injuries as well as treatment. I tried searching: neck wounds, neck cuts, neck injuries, neck anatomy, etc, without much luck. Most of the stuff I found dealt with severe injuries and trauma, which isn't really what I'm looking for.
The situation:
My character is being held hostage with a knife to the throat. His captor is distracted by a third character, and loosens his grip slightly, giving the first character a chance to escape. He attempts to twist out of his captor's grasp, and manages to do so, but not fast enough that he escapes being cut.
I need the wound to be deep enough to scare the bejeezus out of everyone, but I also need the character to survive, preferably with no lasting side effects of the injury save a scar.
Here's what I need to know:
- The cut should be shallow enough not to be fatal, though I need it to be serious enough to require medical attention. Is it possible for someone to sustain a fairly deep cut on the neck without bleeding to death or suffering permanent damage?
- How much would the injury bleed, assuming again that the wound is not fatal, at least, not immediately so?
- How would the victim react? Dizziness, shock? Would he pass out or remain conscious?
- Here's the tough part: Medical technology in this universe would probably be on par with what they had in the 1920/30's if I had to ballpark it. How would they go about treating the wound?
- Keeping the above in mind, how long would the victim be hospitalized, and how long would it be before he was completely healed?
A blow to the head:
Another character sustains a hard blow to the head with a blunt metal object.
- Would be die? Or would he simply be knocked unconscious?
- If unconscious, how long might be remain so before coming around?
I think that about covers it, though if you can think of anything else relevant, please don't hesitate to share! Thanks in advance. :D
