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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Bleeding and Wounds

Hemorrhage

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˈhemərɪdʒ/nounCommon term

In emergency medicine & first aid, hemorrhage means: The medical word for bleeding, especially heavy bleeding, either from a wound or inside the body.

In Turkish: kanama, hemoraji

How it is used

More formal than 'bleeding' and common in reports and textbooks: major hemorrhage, catastrophic hemorrhage, intracranial hemorrhage. Hospitals have major hemorrhage or massive transfusion protocols to release blood quickly. It is also a verb: 'The patient was hemorrhaging.'

Example sentences

  1. In many trauma protocols, catastrophic hemorrhage comes first, even before the airway.

  2. The scan showed a small hemorrhage in the brain.

Common collocations

  • major hemorrhage
  • catastrophic hemorrhage
  • control the hemorrhage
  • internal hemorrhage
  • bleedingThe loss of blood from a damaged blood vessel, either out of the body through a wound or inside the body where it cannot be seen.
  • tourniquetA tight band placed around an arm or leg above a wound to stop heavy bleeding by squeezing the blood vessels shut.
  • shockA life-threatening condition in which not enough blood and oxygen reach the body's organs, for example after heavy bleeding, a severe infection or a serious allergic reaction.
  • direct pressureFirm pressure pressed straight onto a bleeding wound, by hand or with a dressing, to slow or stop external bleeding.

More terms: Bleeding and Wounds

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.