Massive Blood Loss: Circulatory System
Emergencies
As Dr. Gunther von Hagens makes clear in this program, a shortage of blood
can mean insufficient oxygen reaches the major organs—usually resulting in
shock and organ failure. The program opens with a graphic bleeding
demonstration, re-creating injury to blood vessels in the hand of a cadaver.
Von Hagens then examines the consequences of blood loss in the body’s vital
organs by creating knife-wounds in the torso of a frozen body, then sawing
it into slices to reveal the path of the blades and the shocking extent of
the damage. The program also explores a less well-known cause of blood
loss—fractured bones—which von Hagens illustrates in an experiment in which
a femur dissected from a fresh cadaver is made to bleed as it would in life.
Viewer discretion is advised. Contains clinically explicit language and
demonstrations. (48 minutes)
VHS is Closed-Captioned
