What Causes Internal Bleeding?
Bleeding most often occurs due to injury, and depending upon the circumstances, the amount of force required to cause bleeding can be quite variable. Blunt trauma Most people understand that falling from a height or being involved in a car accident can inflict great force and trauma upon the body. If blunt force is involved, the outside of the body may not necessarily be damaged, but enough compression may occur to internal organs to cause injury and bleeding. • Imagine a football player being speared by a helmet to the abdomen. The spleen or liver may be compressed by the force and cause bleeding inside the organ. If the hit is hard enough, the capsule or lining of the organ can be torn, and the bleeding can spill into the peritoneum (the space in the abdominal cavity that contains abdominal organs such as the intestines, liver, and spleen). • If the injury occurs in the area of the back or flank, where the kidney is located, retroperitoneal bleeding (retro=behind; behind the abdomina
