Meaning & use
internal injury
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountablemedical
Damage to organs or tissues inside the body, not visible on the skin.
Grammar: Countable when talking about one or more specific injuries: an internal injury, two internal injuries. Uncountable when talking about the condition in general.
Patterns
- suffer an internal injury
- die from internal injuries
- serious internal injuries
The cyclist was taken to hospital with suspected internal injuries.
She suffered serious internal injuries in the crash but no broken bones.
Doctors scanned his abdomen to check for internal injury.
Word forms
| plural | internal injuries |
|---|
Common combinations
- suffer internal injuries
- Two passengers suffered internal injuries in the accident.
- serious internal injuries
- He was lucky to escape with only minor cuts and no serious internal injuries.
- internal bleeding
- Internal bleeding is a common sign of internal injury.
- die from internal injuries
- The animal died from internal injuries after being hit by a car.
Synonyms and how they differ
- internal trauma
- More technical and often used for severe damage caused by a violent impact.
- internal wound
- Suggests a cut or opening inside the body, while an injury can also be a bruise or tear.
Opposites
Word family
- internally adverb
- Inside the body or inside something: The medicine is applied internally.
- injure verb
- To hurt someone or damage part of the body.
- injured adjective
- Hurt or damaged: injured workers, an injured knee.
Commonly confused: internal injury or internal bleeding?
internal injury vs internal bleeding
Bleeding is blood escaping from vessels; an internal injury is the damage itself, which may or may not bleed.
Practice
After the fall, the doctor checked the patient for ___ injury because there were no cuts on the skin.
Choose one answer.
No cuts on the skin suggest damage inside the body, so 'internal' is correct. 'External' would describe visible damage on the outside.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “internal injury”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.