Eli5 why is it that if I cut myself with a knife I bleed like crazy, but when a surgeon cuts into a chest, removes the ribs to perform a major surgery you don’t see all that much blood comparatively?

Question

Eli5 why is it that if I cut myself with a knife I bleed like crazy, but when a surgeon cuts into a chest, removes the ribs to perform a major surgery you don’t see all that much blood comparatively?

In: 562

Answer 1

Some good answers already about cautery and other techniques to minimize bleeding

I will add that sometimes we do surgery and it’s horrifically bloody. Liters of blood loss. More than the patient’s entire blood volume, especially in kids since they don’t have much blood to begin with