Arrow to the arm

Mellanah · Dec 12, 2008

I'm wanting to have my female character take an arrow to the upper arm. What would logically happen? She is thin but has well-tone muscles. So would the arrow lodge in her bone, go through the muscle, or something else? I want an injury where the arrow has to be removed but the wound isn't terribly dangerous. What would be most realistic?

Also, while I know the archer is using a drawn bow, I'm not sure which type of arrowhead would be most likely. They were intending the kill the person the female character steps in front of. Not sure if broadhead or barbed would be most likely.

Thanks!

petec · Dec 12, 2008

This thread may help

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106990

An arrow has huge kinetic energy so almost certainly the bone would be shattered

this may help as well

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2404953

more importantly

WELCOME to AW

Sarpedon · Dec 12, 2008

Not exactly on topic, but here's a story about a recent archery mishap. With xray goodness not for the squeemish.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/St...n-Eastern-China/Article/200812215177194?f=rss

Barb D · Dec 12, 2008

I just went through the same issue with one of my characters, and decided to make it a flesh wound instead of having the arrow imbedded. I also had him fall and hit his head on a rock. I need him to lose some blood and be out for a little while, but then be able to carry on.

Mellanah · Dec 12, 2008

Thanks for the welcome!

Any idea how much of the bone might be shattered? I really want them to have to pull all or part of the arrow out of her arm, even if it's only the arrowhead. She has an iron allergy, and I wanted an iron arrowhead to be in her longer than just in passing but without creating a really bad wound. This is a fantasy-type novel, so the healer would be able to put the shattered bone back together. He just can't heal where the iron has been directly.

Alternatively, could someone purposely design an arrowhead that would come loose and get stuck or shatter on impact? Really not sure of the possible mechanics of that one. lol

Thanks!

Sarpedon · Dec 12, 2008

well, if you made your arrowhead out of bone, It could concievably pierce skin and muscle, then shatter when it hits bone.

Cyia · Dec 12, 2008

You don't "pull" arrows out that are imbedded in a person's body. Pulling them out causes more damage because of the flared shape of the arrow head - the wider tail shreds the tissue on the way out.

Ideally, the arrow would be surgically removed, but that's not possible for you. You remove an arrow by breaking off the tail feathers and pushing it the rest of the way through. An injury to the upper arm would most likely cut - or at least knick - the brachial artery. Once the arrow is removed, this would cause the injured party to bleed out in seconds unless the wound is cauterized.

If the design of the arrow is hooked (on the head) so that the flared part hangs on (a desgn meant to cause as much damage as possible), it could also be designed so that the flared pieces break off when the shaft is pressed through to the other side so that all they'd remove would be the stick part.

Michael Davis · Dec 12, 2008

Hey guys, it all depends on the head being used. If its an articulator (cut radius of 1.25 to 3 inch) she is going to suffer severe injury. If its a broad head, its still better bad. Several years ago an bow hunter fell on just a broad head and bleed to death from a leg wound before he got out of the woods.

Now a "field point" thats something different. You can survive and the damage would be mimimal IF it just goes through the tissue and misses bone. Virtually any of the modern compound bows draws at 50 to 80 pounds and will shatter a bone.

BTW - a field point has no cutting blades. It is also know as a practice point.

Cyia · Dec 12, 2008

Those are commercial grade arrows; I got the impression this was more of a fantasy type situation. (could very well be wrong, though)

Mellanah · Dec 12, 2008

It is a fantasy-type situation. So far, it looks like my best bet is to have the arrow go through the flesh on the outer arm. I'll have to figure out another way to temporarily incapacitate her, I guess.

Willowmound · Dec 14, 2008

Your biggest worry in being shot medieval-style with an arrow, is infection.

Smiling Ted · Dec 14, 2008

And obviously, shattering the bone would have a lot to do with the distance from the archer, the type of bow, and the type of arrow. For instance, the Chinese had an arrow-thrower whose main purpose was to propel an arrow only hard enough to pierce the skin; the arrow-tip was coated with nastiness.

Chase · Dec 14, 2008

Mellanah said:
I really want them to have to pull all or part of the arrow out of her arm, even if it's only the arrowhead. She has an iron allergy, and I wanted an iron arrowhead to be in her longer than just in passing but without creating a really bad wound.

I rant about non-experts guessing answers, and in this case I was only a long-bow hobby archer as a kid, so I apologize up front.

But when I used steel broadheads mounted on wood shafts, my arrows often broke after hitting rocks or carooming off two or three branches in trees. At least twice, the broadheads stuck in an object such as a post and a tree after ricocheting .

I'm asking expert archers if such a broken arrow wounding might happen to your protagonist. If so, she could get an iron broadhead on a broken shaft embedded in her arm without it having to strike bone.

Just supposin'.

hammerklavier · Dec 15, 2008

Was she wearing some kind of armor? Although arrows are notorious for penetrating armor, the felt under mail or silk armor could stop the arrow with the head just having penetrated. Then if she fell on the arrow, breaking off the shaft, you've got the situation you're looking for.

WriteKnight · Dec 16, 2008

Give the arrow a bodkin point. This is a sharp, needle nosed point without barbs, meant to pierce mail.

It goes into the upper arm THROUGH the mail shirt. The mail absorbs much of the impact velocity, it does not hit the bone, lodging in the muscle.

The arrow shaft may be broken off, leaving the point (and some shaft) in the wound. This would be a very nasty wound, causing severe infection - but she could 'carry on' for a while. Its basically a big puncture wound. (Much like the arrow in the x-ray to the boys head in the post above.)

Alternately, press the point TROUGH the arm, cut the shaft at the entrance wound, and pull it through.

I've seen through and through wounds to the upper arm, and they were treated in the emergency room with stitches.

eLfwriter · Dec 16, 2008

Yep, yep. Arrow has to be pulled through. Wound preferably stitched up. Interesting fact if you're using a fantasy setting -- honey slathered over the wound will help prevent infection. The Egyptians and Romans swore by honey, or so I've read.

I prefer honey in my tea, personally.

Hey, I have actual real experience with this!

Well, not ME, but one of the boy's in archery class decided that it would be 'cool' if he could pull back his arrow so far on his longbow that the tip rested on the back of the handle. He managed it. Long story short, he also couldn't hold back the string against the tension. I found out that arrows do funny things when loosed into the handle of the bow that is doing the loosing!

... He's okay now, we took him to the emergency room. BUT there was a lot of splintering and a lot of blood.

Moral of the story -- don't fool around with a longbow. It will bite back.

Mellanah · Dec 17, 2008

Thanks very much for all your input! I would have picked something lame and implausible otherwise.

I decided to go with having the arrow pass through the fleshy part of her arm and incapacitated her in another way. This leads me to another question, though: after the wound is stitched up, how long would it feasibly take to heal? It was moderately deep, going close to the bone, and would have damaged her muscles. So how long until she could use her arm in daily tasks, and how long until she could draw a bow?

Elven_Fforestydd · Jul 26, 2009

Mellanah said:
She has an iron allergy, and I wanted an iron arrowhead to be in her longer than just in passing but without creating a really bad wound.

Thanks!

I don't know if you still need help on this but I just found this post. The Welsh used a tip on their arrows that weren't fully connected to the shaft. This being when the arrow was removed the tip stayed in. At least thats what the Welsh archer told me. :0

RJK · Jul 26, 2009

A small woman hit by an arrow in the humerus may lose her arm. The arrow would carry enough energy to break the bone and possible continue through the arm, leaving only some muscle to hold the arm to the rest of the body.
If you want this character to return to action, I'd have the arrow pass through the bicep. Then they could break the arrow and pull it out from both ends.

Arrow to the arm

Mellanah

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Barb D

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Smiling Ted

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