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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Bleeding and Wounds

Wound

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/wuːnd/nounCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, wound means: An injury where the skin or other tissue is cut, torn, pierced or broken, for example by a knife, glass, a fall or a bite.

In Turkish: yara

How it is used

A general word used by all staff. Wounds are described by type (cut, laceration, puncture wound, abrasion), size, depth and whether they are clean or dirty. You clean, dress, close or stitch a wound. As a verb it is used mainly for weapons: 'He was wounded in the leg.'

Example sentences

  1. The wound is about four centimetres long and still oozing.

  2. We'll clean the wound and close it with glue.

Common collocations

  • clean the wound
  • dress a wound
  • open wound
  • stab wound
  • wound infection
  • lacerationA wound where the skin is cut or torn, often with uneven edges, for example from glass, metal or a fall onto a sharp edge.
  • abrasionA shallow wound where the top layer of skin has been scraped off, for example after a fall onto a rough road.
  • dressingA sterile pad or covering placed directly on a wound to protect it, absorb blood and help it heal.
  • 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.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Bleeding and Wounds

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