Non-fatal stabbings....

A note to Liam,

Thank you for the clarification, and the welcome. For the others, if anyone intends to use it, it's vagus nerve, not vegas, and there are a pair of them, with slightly different end-organ influences. And, Liam is right on the anatomy. I just want to further his point a little as a general statement. In the lower neck, as in most other areas of the body, the nerves and arteries are positioned very deep, frequently near structures that provide some protection. They are not all that easy to hit (many wrist slashers have numerous scars to drive home this point). That's because the arterial system is the high pressure system and damage will cause a much faster bleed. The veins are more superficial--they also have much lower pressure, so damage will produce a slower bleed. The exceptions are where the arteries have to cross joints or where they go to other body parts, so the carotid arteries are more exposed near the jawline as they pass into the head. To the very original question in this thread, if you want a drawn out death, go for a venous bleed, not an arterial one. No squirting, just a constant ooze.

On the subject of books, please don't just go for anatomy. Look for an old edition of a college Human and Anatomy and Physiology text. The new editions are expensive. New editions come out about every three years, so you should be able to get an old one. By the way, for anyone unfamiliar with the world of college texts, the high prices and three-year rule for new editions is due to the used book market. As authors, we can probably appreciate the rule. The projected sales of a new text declines over three years due to the used book sales so by the fourth year, the book sales will not make up for the associated costs. In the used book situation, none of the profits go the author or the publisher. Sorry for the side road. Nearly every major publisher has at least one Human Anatomy and Physiology text in production. I don't know if they'd give up old editions, or if they destroy them, but an inquiry wouldn't hurt. You may be able to get old editions for the cheap on Amazon.com--I haven't checked.

Remember your physiology as well as your anatomy.

Cheers to all, and happy slicing (on the page, of course).

NeuroFizz, speaking of physiology...

I saw your post in another thread (I think it was your post) about Hollywood's penchant for choosing pop-n-sizzle over accuracy in certain scenes. It used to drive me nuts. Over time, I've manged to reconcil my problems with those scenes to a degree. Still, the occassional gross offender pops up. This morning I was watching 70's flick in which a ghetto patrol takes back a neighborhood from drug dealers. One of the good guys uses what appears to be an old .22 cal Savage repeater. He shoots a bad guy and blows him across two rooms and out a second story window.

There are so many scenes that transgress, it's almost impossible to list them all. But Hollywood keeps making the pictures and people keep buying the tickets. Whaddya' do?

Gunshot wounds

LiamJackson said:

Greetings, Brady! I was just thinking this morning that you should check in on this issue.

As for gunshot wounds, those jokers hurt like a *****! But we can discuss and compare notes if you like. Meanwhile, glad to see you in the Horror forum.

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I've been shot twice, once in the calf, and once in the upper thigh. Gunshot wounds do hurt like a ***********, but not always when they first happen. If the adrenalin is really pumping an you're scared unto death and in screaming crazy mode, you may not even know you've been hit.

When I was shot in the calf, the bullet passed straight through, and the only way I knew I'd been hit was because the force of the bullet knocked my leg sideways and tripped me. Actually, I still didn't know I'd been shot, I just knew something knocked my leg sideways. I stayed down maybe a quarter of a second and then I was up and running for cover again.

Bullets were flying everywhere from both sides. . . semi-major firefight going on with a total of about thirty submachine guns and assault rifles. It didn't last very long. Everyone on my side was under cover (except for one idiot who decided he needed to get to another position once the pin was pulled. That idiot got shot in the calf.) and had a crossfire ambush set up.

The other side was considerably more numerous, but were caught right out in the open, in a crossfire, at almost point blank range, with no cover and with nowhere to go. I doubt that part of it lasted more than thirty seconds. It was about as close to a slaughter as you can get.

Later, there was enough pain to satisfy anyone. Luckily, the bullet was small caliber and had a full metal jacket, and somehow sliced through without touching much muscle, and no bone, but there was pain and enough blood, it seemed, to fill two men. I can't say it was the worst pain I ever experienced, but it was high enough up there to make me wish I'd stayed put. Except I couldn't.

The worst pain actually came from trying to walk on that leg a few days later.

I talked to one soldier who had been hit nine times under somewhat similar conditions. . .caught in the open, scared to death, raging, running right at the enemy. He said he didn't even know he had been hit until later.

At any rate, there was zero pain until after the adrenalin rush and terror were gone.

Ack! Broke my own policy of cutting back on the war stories. You folk go ahead. I'm talking notes for future character calamities

James, thanks for sharing that. Hope the old wounds don't give you too much trouble these days.

Hehe. LJ, I love listening to old war stories. Boy, I tell ya what... There are some brave men/women hanging out here. I'm so glad I've been fortunate enough to avoid gun contact to this point. I prefer my trusty machete. Thanks for sharing guys. It's quite an intersting topic. (Though, I'm sure you'd much rather be one of us boring folks with no stories to tell.)

multiple stabs to stomach

Kevin Yarbrough said:

Depending on the knife, it might not break. The clavicle isn't a very thick bone and just remember that hunters use knifes all the time on animals. If you do an under the armpit stick then make sure it is on the right side, opposite side of the heart. Don't stick the blade in all the way. If you go through the clavicle you have to be carefull. Bone fragments can peirce the heart and kill you quick, again, use right side for this. Abdomen stabs can give the victim time to get away, if they are smart enough and have a strong will that is.

If you want the victim to not struggle then I say go through the back. Peirce the spinal cord and paralyze them. If you miss the kidneys, arteries and veins, which can be done, then they will not be able to move and they will bleed out. Hit about mid-back, you will miss the lungs, heart, and kidneys but will most likely hit the stomach and intestines which will make for a slow death.

After I posted the lung scenario I relaized that that wouldn't be possible, as Liam already explained. You can get an embolism, collapsed lung, or if that didn't happen you could throw thrombosis and have a heart attack or a stroke, depending on which way the clot went.

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you said that hitting the stomach makes for a slow death. can the same be said if the victim was stabbed in the stomach multiple times (about 5-7)? my MC in my story gets stabbed repeatedly in the abdomen, and i'm wondering where in the abdomen that should be. the blade would be 5-6 inches long, double edged, might have serrations at parts, and it would be thrust upwards at the first blow. the attacker then twists the knife and yanks it out, and keeps stabbing the victim. would this kill my victim? because i need her to be on the brink of death, but still survive at the end.
also, i don't want blood coming out of her mouth, and i dont want any organs protruding from her body; but there should be a lot of external blood loss from the stab wounds. so is the stomach a feasible spot for this, or should the knife go in somewhere else in the abdomen?