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

Depends on what gets hit and how much damage is done.

You generally die in 2 ways from being shot. Either your nervous system shuts down, or your blood pressure drops to zero.

Blood pressure drops to zero by stuff bleeding a lot, the big pipes that carry the blood being destroyed (artery major blood vessels) or the pump being destroyed (heart).

Taking out one lung may not kill you if you can stop the bleeding. Hitting the liver may not kill you.

Taking out the heart is game over almost instantly.

Taking out any of the major arteries in the chest is also game over almost instantly.

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So you can survive a chest shot if you get lucky and the ribs help protect the organs a bit, you don’t take out the heart or major vessels, don’t totally take out both lungs, and otherwise don’t bleed too much.