I know there are plenty of cases in which someone has survived a shot through the brain, or in which only part of their functioning is impaired, but for the most part, why does a bullet randomly aimed at someone’s head kill them nearly instantaneously? Rather than just losing eyesight or the ability to move an arm or leg. Thanks!
In: Biology
When a high speed projectile enters the skull several things happen. Bone fragments are forced into the brain. The projectile can fragment or and deform if a soft metal (lead), and there is a shock wave that traverses through the brain and rebounds off the inside of the skull
These produce trauma to multiple parts of the brain as well as damage to the blood vessels that provide the brain with oxygen and nutrients. Any of these factors can cause death. Some parts can cause death quicker than others. The blood loss, may not cause immediate death, but damaging the part of the brain that regulates the breathing would cause a slow death (2-3 minutes) if the part of the brain that controls the heart is damaged, death would be almost instantaneous if the person wasn’t put on life support immediately (CPR), if parts of the motor functions are damaged, a person could remain ‘brain alive’ but be in a vegetative state unable to respond to the outside world.
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