In movies taking a bullet out of a wound and then putting a bandage on the wound seems to magically cure the wound. Is that all you really need to do?

Question

In movies, after someone is shot they are in great pain or even crippled until someone pulls the bullet out. Once the bullet is plucked out and dramatically dropped into a bowl, the victim seems to be completely fine. Is the bullet being in the wound really the biggest problem? Is it preventing the wound from closing somehow?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Pro Tip: there’s often no reason at all to extract the bullet and often many reasons not to do so.

Why go digging around in your flesh, knowing I might damage more tissue or sever an artery? They do it in movies to advance the story, and not for medical reasons. It’s a convenient way to signal that the injuring force has been removed and the character is now fine.