Blood squirt (blood spurt, blood spray, blood gush, or blood jet) is the effect when an

artery An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...

is ruptured.

Blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...

causes the blood to

bleed Bleeding usually means the leakage or loss of blood from the body. Bleeding, bleed, or bleeder may also refer to: *Bleed (printing), intentionally printing across the expected trim line or edge of the sheet *Bleed, or spill (audio), when audio fro ...

out at a rapid, intermittent rate in a spray or jet, coinciding with the

pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

, rather than the slower, but steady flow of

venous Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

bleeding. Also known as arterial bleeding, arterial spurting, or arterial gushing, the amount of blood loss can be copious, occur very rapidly, and can led to death by a process called

exsanguination Exsanguination is death caused by loss of blood. Depending upon the health of the individual, people usually die from losing half to two-thirds of their blood; a loss of roughly one-third of the blood volume is considered very serious. Even a sing ...

Anatomy

In cut

carotid arteries In anatomy, the left and right common carotid arteries (carotids) (Entry "carotid"
in
hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

ischemia Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems wi ...

, there is a "squirt test" that involves squirting blood from the

radial artery In human anatomy, the radial artery is the main artery of the lateral aspect of the forearm. Structure The radial artery arises from the bifurcation of the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa. It runs distally on the anterior part of the f ...

, which is used in

intraoperative The perioperative period is the time period of a patient's surgical procedure. It commonly includes ward admission, anesthesia, surgery, and recovery. Perioperative may refer to the three phases of surgery: preoperative, intraoperative, and posto ...

assessment of collateral arm blood flow before radial artery

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

. This is more commonly called "

Allen's test In medicine, Allen's test or the Allen test is a medical sign used in physical examination of arterial blood flow to the hands. It was named for Edgar Van Nuys Allen, who described the original version of the test in 1942. An altered test, first s ...

" by microvascular surgeons, and is used before harvesting radial artery based free tissue transfers. In 1933, a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

prompted a testimony from Dr. Clement Harrisse Arnold about how far blood could spurt from the neck: vertically and laterally.

Iconography

Chinnamasta Chhinnamasta ( sa, छिन्नमस्ता, , "She whose head is severed"), often spelled Chinnamasta, and also called Ch(h)innamastika and Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa (in western states of India), is a Hindu goddess (Devi). She ...

, a self-decapitated Hindu goddess, is depicted holding her head with three jets of blood spurting out of her bleeding neck, which are drunk by her severed head and two attendants.

Saint Miliau St Miliau or Miliav is a Breton saint and eponym of the village of Guimiliau, where he is particularly venerated. He is said to be a good saint to invoke in cases of rheumatism. St Miliau is a figure of some importance in Breton cult and legend. ...

, a Christian martyr killed c. 6th century AD, is sometimes represented holding his severed head, as in the

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

of the Passion of the Christ at

Lampaul-Guimiliau Lampaul-Guimiliau (; br, Lambaol-Gwimilio) is a commune in the Finistère department and administrative region of Brittany in north-western France. It is noted for its parish close. Etymology The place name element ''lan'' or ''lam'' (''llan'' ...

, where blood gushes from his neck.

Insects and animals

Some animals deliberately

autohaemorrhage Autohaemorrhaging, or reflex bleeding, is the action of animals deliberately ejecting blood from their bodies. Autohaemorrhaging has been observed as occurring in two variations. In the first form, blood is squirted toward a predator. The blood of ...

or squirt blood as a

defense mechanism In psychoanalytic theory, a defence mechanism (American English: defense mechanism), is an unconscious psychological operation that functions to protect a person from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and o ...

Armored cricket ''Acanthoplus discoidalis'' is a species in the Hetrodinae, a subfamily of the katydid family (Tettigoniidae). Like its closest relatives, ''Acanthoplus discoidalis'' variously bears common names such as armoured katydid, armoured ground cricke ...

s, which are native to Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana, drive away predators by spewing

vomit Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteriti ...

and spurting

hemolymph Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...

(the mollusk and arthropod equivalent of blood) from under their legs and through slits in their exoskeleton.

Katydid Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America), or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, t ...

s do it too, and in Germany the species has acquired the nickname "Blutspritzer", or "blood squirter". The

regal horned lizard The regal horned lizard (''Phrynosoma solare'') is a horned lizard species native to Mexico and the Southwest United States. Description The regal horned lizard is a small, flat lizard about the size of the palm of a man's hand. Though it has s ...

, too, uses the blood-spewing tactic, shooting the substance from a pocket near its eyes."See It to Believe It: Animals Vomit, Spurt Blood to Thwart Predators"
Allison Bond, ''

Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * Di ...

'' blog, 28 July 2009, retrieved 17 March 2010 One of the

oriental rat flea The Oriental rat flea (''Xenopsylla cheopis''), also known as the tropical rat flea or the rat flea, is a parasite of rodents, primarily of the genus ''Rattus'', and is a primary vector for bubonic plague and murine typhus. This occurs when a flea ...

mouth's two functions is to squirt partly digested blood into a bite.

References

{{reflist

External links

Video - Freak of Nature: Blood-Squirting Lizard
at

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

Squirt Squirt or squirting can refer to the following: Animals * Sea squirt, a marine animal Arts and entertainment * ''Squirt'', a comic strip in the ''Funday Times'' * "Squirt" (Fluke song), a song by Fluke * ''Squirt'' (TV series), a New Zealand ...

Special effects

Anatomy

Iconography

Insects and animals

See also

References

External links