How do people survive gunshot wounds to internal organs?

Question

I mean, if you get shot anywhere in the chest, that’s going to hit your lungs or your heart, how do you not die almost instantly?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Combat experience shows that gunshots kill primarily in three ways:
Central Nervous System destruction – brain shot
Traumatic Exsanguination – bleeding out
Tension Pneumothorax – Air in the chest cavity affecting blood flow and breathing

If you are shot in the head, good luck.
If you’re bleeding, you have a minute or so to stop it.
Pneumothorax management is more complicated, but vital for survival when it occurs.
If you can manage those gunshot effects, you can survive a pretty big hit.