Information on realistic damage to human bodies (gore alert)

I'm writing a bit of fiction for fun lately, a modern thriller novel, to be exact. I'm no writer, so I'm just doing this for the hell of it. I'm not getting it published or anything.

However, I'm trying to go for some realism. People will be getting hurt in this bit of fiction, but since I'm no biologist, I don't know how the human body reacts to damage, physical trauma, etc. So I ask this forum's resident biologists and ex-wounded people for some info on the matter (I'm looking at you, Merentha  )

The Questions:

(For the sake of this exercise, let's assume we're talking about a healthy human male of average height, average build, average muscle mass. He has no record or any severe injuries or surgeries, or of any substance use (no tobacco, negligible amounts of alcohol, no illegal substances).)

How do the following wounds effect the above subject?:

1) Injuries by a steel sword, the sword having the dimensions of the sword second from the far right...

1a) Impalement through the center of the lower torso, from the front? This should at least rupture the small intestines. Will such an impalement also damage the spine?
1b) Impalement through the center of the lower torso, from the side? This should at least rupture the small and large intestines, possibly even the liver and/or the spleen. Will such an impalement also damage the spine?
1c) Impalement hrough the center of the upper torso, from the front? By this I mean right through the bottom few inches of the solar plexus. Again, will this damage the spine?
1d) Impalement through the center of the upper torso, from the side? This pretty much screws the victim over completely, as it will impale both lungs and the heart. Once again, will this damage the spine?
1e) Disembowelment by a single slash? Assume that the spine has not been injured, and the slash is across the line across the lower torso equidistant from the bottom rib and the hips.
1f) If the sword is removed immediately after any of the above wounds, how will this affect the victim?


2) A single bullet wound from a firearm. This firearm as about the same firepower as a standard M16 and uses armor-piercing bullets...

2a) Through the shoulder, from the front? In this scenario, the bullet should penetrate into the ball-and-socket joint in the shoulder.
2b) Through the shoulder, from the side? Will the bullet continue to travel through the shoulder and into the chest cavity?
2c) Through the center of the lower torso, from the front? This should at least rupture the small intestines.
2d) Through the center of the lower torso, from the side? This should at least rupture the small and large intestines, possibly even the liver and/or the spleen.
2e) Through the center of the upper torso, from the front? By this I mean right through the bottom few inches of the solar plexus.
2f) Through the center of the upper torso, from the side?
2g) Through one lung, from the front?
2h) Through the heart, from the front?
2i) Through one lung and the heart?
2j) Through one knee?
2k) Through the upper thigh, right through the middle of the femur?


3) The same as above, except by multiple bullet wounds.


4) Blows from a steel (or of similar material) bludgeoning tool, such as a section of pipe or a sledgehammer...

4a) A single baseball-bat-like swing to the side of the head, using an average amount of force?
4b) A single swing to the temple, using an average amount of force?
4c) A single swing to the forehead, using an average amount of force?
4d) A single swing to the back of the head, using an average amount of force? Assume that the blow is directed at the cerebellum.
4e) A single swing to the middle of the spine, using an average amount of force? Will the spine break?
4f) A single swing to the front upper torso, using an average amount of force? Will this rupture anything?
4g) A single swing to the front lower torso, using an average amount of force? Will this rupture anything?


5) The same as above, except using the maximum amount of force possible in the swing.


6) The same as 2), but with an arrow fired from a powerful (ca. 120 lbs. draw) bow firing broadheads.


7) The same as 6), but using multiple arrows.


The same as 2), but using a firearm with the same power as a high-powered sniper rifle. I don't know much about sniper rifles, so I can't specify what kind of sniper rifle, only that the sniper rifle is on the higher end of the firepower scale.


9) The same as , but with multiple bullet wounds.


10) A combat knife...

10a) A single, deep slash across the chest? Assume that no internal organs were ruptured.
10b) A single, deep slash across the lower part of an arm holding a weapon?
10c) A single deep slash across the upper thigh, severing most or all of the quadriceps?
10d) A single, deep slash across the upper thigh, severing most or all of the hamstrings?
10e) A single, deep slash across the throat so that either the carotid artery or the carotid vein (they're the blood vessels that bleed like crazy when the throat is slit, FYI) is severed?
10f) A single, deep slash across the throat so that BOTH the carotid blood vessels are severed?
10g) A single stab, so that the knife is buried up to the hilt, into the solar plexus, from the front?
10h) A single stab into the center of the lower torso, from the front?
10i) A single stab into the center of the lower torso, from the side?
10j) A single stab into the spleen from behind?
10k) A single stab into the part of the neck that meets the head, from behind?
10l) A single stab through the skull, so that it damages only the cerebrum?


Next question:
This time, assume that the victim is a human female, with average build, weight, muscle mass. No history of smoking or drinking or major injuries, etc. What are the differences of the wounds from the above human male?

Next question:
This time, assume that the victim is a teenage human male, with average build, weight, muscle mass. No history of smoking, drinking, major injuries, etc. Differences?

Next question:
This time, assume that the victim is a teenage human female. You know the drill.

Next question:
What affect do athleticism, muscle mass, or a history of major injuries have on the above list of wounds?




I apologize in advance for the, er, morbidity of the above questions, but I really need to know, and I don't have anywhere else I can talk about this sort of thing.

Just so you know, when bullets get slowed down(as when in flesh), they can refract like light(the trajectory is 'bent') and can end up at a position a couple of degrees lower than the entry wound. Like with a .22 bullet it can go in through your sternum but come out your lower back.

Kobrag said:

Just so you know, when bullets get slowed down(as when in flesh), they can refract like light(the trajectory is 'bent') and can end up at a position a couple of degrees lower than the entry wound. Like with a .22 bullet it can go in through your sternum but come out your lower back.

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I assume that this only occurs with, as you say, from weaker bullets?

Yeah, It's not like the government would hand physics students high caliber rounds.
I just wanted to help and feel smart.

Kobrag said:

Yeah, It's not like the government would hand physics students high caliber rounds.
I just wanted to help and feel smart.

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What kind of physics class lets you wield .22 caliber firearms? 

Well,when I was young(17) I brought in footage from shooting practice in air cadets to my physics lecturer, I was curious why the slab of pork was mutilated so, (unconventional, but the younger members were getting bored with shooting paper targets).
She showed it to the class in slow motion, explaining each and every part of the bullets 'history'.

13 Spider Bloody Chain said:

1f) If the sword is removed immediately after any of the above wounds, how will this affect the victim?

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Assuming the removal is via the same way it went in (i.e. it's not causing further damage) then it will increase blood loss. When an object penetrates through a muscle it contracts around the affected area, which generally causes an airtight seal. If you remove the blade (not easy, and usually requires you to twist the blade to break the seal) then you break this seal and allow the blood to flow freely.

2g) Through one lung, from the front?

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Depends on calibre. A small wound through the chest cavity will be sealed by the muscle membrane, preserving the lung's function. Blood from the wound is likely to begin to fill the cavity and cause a loss of capacity, eventually (assuming it doesn't stop beforehand) causing the lung to stop breathing until the blood is dispersed. If the wound caused is too large for the body to seal then the lung will collapse. In physical terms, it will cause a shortness of breath and intense pain in the chest, but it's not usually life threatening (there are cases, particularly for asthmatics and those with similar pre-existing respiratory problems, where a collapsed lung has went undiagnosed for several days as the sufferer believed it was simply a strong asthma attack). Of course, if the damage occurs to both lungs, or the flooding of one lung seeps through into the other, then the individual will suffocate quite rapidly without immediate medical assistance.

4a) A single baseball-bat-like swing to the side of the head, using an average amount of force?
4b) A single swing to the temple, using an average amount of force?
4c) A single swing to the forehead, using an average amount of force?
4d) A single swing to the back of the head, using an average amount of force? Assume that the blow is directed at the cerebellum.

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Hurts like a *****. There's always a risk when injury involves the head of course, but in most cases the victim is left with a pretty nasty bump and a painful headache for a week or so.

4e) A single swing to the middle of the spine, using an average amount of force? Will the spine break?

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Not likely, unless they're already suffering from spinal problems. You might wind them though.

4f) A single swing to the front upper torso, using an average amount of force? Will this rupture anything?
4g) A single swing to the front lower torso, using an average amount of force? Will this rupture anything?

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Unlikely. Hit the chest and the best you can hope for is a bruised or cracked rip. Hit the stomach and you might crack the hip or cause some severe bruising, but even at full force it's going to take multiple blows to cause much damage. Smash them in the balls and you could break the pelvis, which is incredibly painful but hardly life threatening.

5) The same as above, except using the maximum amount of force possible in the swing.

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Not much more to be honest. A single blow at the maximum force of the average human is unlikely to prove fatal or do much more than fracture a bone. Against the head it is possible to crush the skull and therefore damage the brain, but it's unlikely. A KO would be more likely. Against the spine you'd need pretty exceptional circumstances to cause a break with such a blow, and again at the front the rib cage will protect the body from serious damage against pretty much anything you can throw at it - you might break a rib or two but usually it requires a sustained assault to do major damage (and that largely by smashing the ribcage into pieces in the process).

10a) A single, deep slash across the chest? Assume that no internal organs were ruptured.
10b) A single, deep slash across the lower part of an arm holding a weapon?

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It would hurt a lot. Depending on the depth and severity of the wound blood loss might be a problem unless it's stemmed within a few minutes.

10c) A single deep slash across the upper thigh, severing most or all of the quadriceps?
10d) A single, deep slash across the upper thigh, severing most or all of the hamstrings?

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Apart from the pain severing the tendons will prevent the individual from using the affected limb. It literally detaches the muscle from the skeleton around the affected area. This means not only is the limb immobile, but it loses any capacity to bear weight or similar.

10e) A single, deep slash across the throat so that either the carotid artery or the carotid vein (they're the blood vessels that bleed like crazy when the throat is slit, FYI) is severed?

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If it's the artery you'll get a spray of blood in time with the heartbeat until the victim dies. Since you've just severed the oxygen supply to the brain this is likely to occur within three minutes or so, barring medical intervention. Hitting the vein is the same as severing a major vein anywhere else - the individual is likely to die of blood loss unless either the body manages to contain the rupture or they receive medical treatment.

10g) A single stab, so that the knife is buried up to the hilt, into the solar plexus, from the front?
10h) A single stab into the center of the lower torso, from the front?
10i) A single stab into the center of the lower torso, from the side?
10j) A single stab into the spleen from behind?
10k) A single stab into the part of the neck that meets the head, from behind?

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It really depends on whether the dagger connects with any organs on the way. If it does, then it could cause severe damage. If not, then it's not much different from a deep cut or similar - you'll lose a lot of blood which might be dangerous, but for the most part the damage is superficial.

10l) A single stab through the skull, so that it damages only the cerebrum?

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Brain injuries are tricky. A single clot in the right place can be fatal, on the other hand people have had railroad spikes embedded in the brain with little obvious effect apart from sudden mood swings.

This time, assume that the victim is a human female, with average build, weight, muscle mass. No history of smoking or drinking or major injuries, etc. What are the differences of the wounds from the above human male?

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Very little, beyond the obvious. Living tissue tends to react the same way to trauma regardless.

What affect do athleticism, muscle mass, or a history of major injuries have on the above list of wounds?

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Mass tends to be good against penetrative injuries like a dagger for obvious reasons (if it has to go through an extra three inches of blubber before it even finds your ribcage then it's three inches which won't be entering an organ).  Previous wounds would depend on any lingering effects, obviously if you've had a lung removed for some reason then having your remaining lung collapse is going to be pretty fatal. On the other hand having broken your shin when you were twelve isn't going to make much difference either way.

I don't have anywhere else I can talk about this sort of thing.

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There's a bunch of sites on the net which detail the results of various traumas on the human body, some from a forensic perspective and some from a medical perspective.The medical stuff can help you understand why something might be lethal or what risks particular trauma's / injuries entail, and the police / forensic stuff will give you a good idea of what the effects actually look like and a good idea of how (for example) the injuries inflicted from a crowbar differ compared to those inflicted with a baseball bat.

On the other hand having broken your shin when you were twelve isn't going to make much difference either way.

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Bone that has healed from a previous break tends to be slightly more fragile in comparison with normal bone. It might be prone to breaking more easily.

Night Ninja said:

Bone that has healed from a previous break tends to be slightly more fragile in comparison with normal bone. It might be prone to breaking more easily.

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I believe it obviously varies on the type and location of fracture but for most injuries i always thought to be quite the opposite.


For example a great part of Muay Thai training is to cause damage (even if at a small level) to your bones, as your bones heal (re-grow) they get denser/thicker and so stronger. 

I'm going to include source information for what I can so you can use it if you want. Any significant injury to the heart (that pierces a ventricle or atrium) will probably kill the victim with severe hemorrhaging.

1a) Sword, lower centre torso from front
depending mostly on the angle of the stab and chance, this would either go between or indeed cut the small intestine. What would most likely kill this person is fecal matter spilling out into their abdominal cavity and death by infection, or internal hemmorhage. If the person's really lucky it might seal up and not leak badly and he'll survive after a long, painful time.

http://content.revolutionhealth.com/contentimages/images-image_popup-d7_digestivesystem.jpg

1b) Sword, lower centre torso from side
Again, depends. If the victim is stabbed dead centre, the large intestine will probably be damaged, but if the sword is a bit farther forward or back in relation to the victim, it would just go through fat and muscle, or hit the spinal column, and most likely you'd be hitting a vertebra, so no damage to the cord is very likely if it even goes at least halfway through and hits it. Rules above apply.

1c)  Sword, upper centre, front

Here, again depending on little variables, you'd either do nothing and go through emptiness (it exists), sever the esophagus, or pierce the stomach. I doubt spinal injury.

http://img.thebody.com/legacyAssets/44/81/Torso.jpg

1d)  Sword, upper centre, side

You'd probably hit the pleura (sac that encases the lungs to maintain pressure balance) or the lungs themselves, which would indeed cause the sort of would you're looking for. The wound would, if the hole remains open enough to let air into the pleural cavity, be called a pneumothorax. If it closes too much for air to come in, blood can seep into the cavity, resulting in a hemothorax wound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumothorax
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemothorax
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000126.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/pneumothorax/article.htm#tocc


2,3,6,7, I really don't know enough about ballistics for bullet and arrow related injuries.
I'm going to skip the ones Arch covered that I totally agree with


4e) A single swing to the middle of the spine, using an average amount of force? Will the spine break?
4f) A single swing to the front upper torso, using an average amount of force? Will this rupture anything?
4g) A single swing to the front lower torso, using an average amount of force? Will this rupture anything?


5) The same as above, except using the maximum amount of force possible in the swing.
Maximum force to the torso could, depending on the strength of the attacker and the size of the striking area of the weapon, damage internal organs, but to a fairly low degree. A strong man with a good hammer might be able to rupture less-protected organs, and a well-placed blow can severly damage anything in there. A kidney shot would likely be fatal. Also, a very severe blow could rupture the pleura, or even cause an aortic aneurysm or rupture.

http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/heart/tar_6/

Alot of these are hard to explain because there are just too many variables.

But, I'll answer the best I can.

Disembowelment by a single slash? Assume that the spine has not been injured, and the slash is across the line across the lower torso equidistant from the bottom rib and the hips.

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It'll do exactly that. It would sever both the large and small intestines, which would most likely spill out of the wound onto the floor. Futile attempts by the injured to keep their guts inside would be messy.

2f) Through the center of the upper torso, from the side?

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If it were to pass by the ribs, it would most likely continue on through the first lung, possibly into the heart, and get lodged in the ribs on the other side. If it didn't pass the ribs, it would most likely be deflected into the other parts of the body, such as into the stomach, liver and kidneys. Kidneys being the quickest to die since they'd bleed out more, while stomach would be the slowest and most agonizing because you'd die of Sepsis before anything else.

The same as 2), but with an arrow fired from a powerful (ca. 120 lbs. draw) bow firing broadheads.

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It'd go right through.

10k) A single stab into the part of the neck that meets the head, from behind?

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The person would feel nothing and immediately die.

10l) A single stab through the skull, so that it damages only the cerebrum?

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Depends on where you stab them, but in any case, without treatment, the person would bleed to death. If you got them in the Ocipital Lobe, they'd go blind. If you got them in the Parietal lobe, they'd probably be paralyzed, lose balance, etc. Not sure on that one though. And I don't really remember anything about the Frontal lobe.


Anyways, hope I could be of some help.

Sir Timothi said:

10k) A single stab into the part of the neck that meets the head, from behind?

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The person would feel nothing and immediately die.

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Very much doubt it. The only way you'd get a quick death is if the blade followed the curvature of the skull and severed an artery. Otherwise, there's a  risk of paralysis through damage to the spine or lower cortex. Most of the soft, squidgy bits are pretty deep in there though; for the most part it's muscle and flesh you'd be cutting through.

In fact, this kind of injury was common in the Rwanda massacres as the favoured form of execution was to behead with a machete. Quite a lot of the time they'd hit the lower skull instead, which usually led to the blade taking a fair chunk out of the back of the head and neck, but the lucky(?) survivor was otherwise unharmed. There were some startling photographs of survivors in profile which showed just how much of the back of the head can be 'safely' removed, but I can't find any. I did find this however :

You can clearly see the mark on the rear of the head where the machete struck (as well as on the shoulders). If nothing else, it demonstrates the remarkable resilience to damage of the human skull.

This is a botched execution with a weapon designed for this kind of work, and it failed to penetrate the victim's skull. I'll let you work out what would be involved with pushing a knife blade through it.

Depends on where you stab them, but in any case, without treatment, the person would bleed to death.

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Not from a wound to the brain. You'll die from hydrocephalus before blood loss would kill you. Vasospasm would be more likely, and this can also be fatal. Really, we don't know enough about the brain to predict what the effects of such damage to it would be. There are recorded cases of people suffering from a foreign object entering the brain, or otherwise suffering damage or loss to significant amounts of brain tissue, and suffering no ill effects whatsoever. Other cases have known the victim suffer from depression, mood swings and in some cases transgenderism. More common are effects similar to the after affects of a stroke - loss of capability, motor control and the like.

Mama Sumae said:

Night Ninja said:

Bone that has healed from a previous break tends to be slightly more fragile in comparison with normal bone. It might be prone to breaking more easily.

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I believe it obviously varies on the type and location of fracture but for most injuries i always thought to be quite the opposite.


For example a great part of Muay Thai training is to cause damage (even if at a small level) to your bones, as your bones heal (re-grow) they get denser/thicker and so stronger. 

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By causing limited damage and stress to your bones, they regrow and reinforce. I don't recall that that's the case when you get a clean break or fracture, but don't quote me on that.

EDIT: Messed up the quote.

Night Ninja said:

By causing limited damage and stress to your bones, they regrow and reinforce. I don't recall that that's the case when you get a clean break or fracture, but don't quote me on that.

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Bones are constantly growing throughout your lifetime, at least if your periosteum is functioning correctly (in fact, if you think about it it should be obvious ).
As far as long term effects go, the skeleton is a bit weird compared to the rest of the body as it acts a bit like both a mineral and an organ. Ossification is a constantly ongoing process, thus once a broken bone has completely healed it should be no weaker than any other bone. It won't be any stronger either though, unless something goes wrong with the growth process. In general bone reinforcement tends to occur due to weight bearing stress rather than the kind of impact stress a fracture is normally caused by.

As far as I'm aware only anecdotal evidence exists to connect previous bone injuries with problems later in life, and in those cases the issues tend to be triggered by multiple causes, not least of which tends to be age itself - arthritis, osteoporosis and similar.

Archonsod said:

Ossification is a constantly ongoing process, thus once a broken bone has completely healed it should be no weaker than any other bone. It won't be any stronger either though, unless something goes wrong with the growth process.

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Agree the new bone is indeed as strong as the previous (in a normal healthy individual and with the proper treatment). Still the natural healing process also plays its part and the bone does increase in thickness on the fractured area.




Notice that in the last healing stage the thickness of the bone increased on the fractured area; that change is permanent and doesnt affect the soft tissues of the bone only the external hard "shell".


Any future fracture is more likely to happen in another location than the previously fully healed fractured area. Still that doesn’t mean that the overall structure of bone was reinforced, just the area of fracture. 

Again all of this depends on the type of fracture, the injured bone, medical condition of the individual and the applied treatment.   

 

Archonsod said:

In general bone reinforcement tends to occur due to weight bearing stress rather than the kind of impact stress a fracture is normally caused by.

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Weight bearing is normally used in the correct later stage of the healing to increase the recovery speed of the bone strength.

The bone acts just like any other physical structure.  Weight bearing can be said to be a constant form of impact, in both cases you are applying load/stress/strain on the structure. Structures in such condition can suffer deformation, full facture or simple microscopical fissures depending on the load, stress distribution and the material properties of structure.   

In or case our structure material is bone, since bone has the natural healing process mention above when small fissures occur the structure ends up reinforced.




   

Night Ninja said:

On the other hand having broken your shin when you were twelve isn't going to make much difference either way.

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Bone that has healed from a previous break tends to be slightly more fragile in comparison with normal bone. It might be prone to breaking more easily.

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No. It depends on how long after the break.

When I broke my collarbone, the bone headed back stronger, at first, and thicker. It didn't heal to the exact form of my bone, but more made a bulb around the break, so it looked like I had a golf ball on my collarbone, with the bone going straight through the ball. But, as times goes on you have a enzyme/catalyst/something else that cuts, and reforms the bone to how it once was.

It doesn't make the bone weaker, but it makes it the same strength it was before. But, that bone is also newer, so it's still has less chances of breaking.

So at the beginning of the healing, once the bone is there, that specific point is at it's strongest. But as it gets shaped back to form it becomes weaker, but it also has less of a chance to become a lever, and break surounding areas. That's common with motocross and knee-braces.
(http://www.danacreechracing.com/categories/products/images/innovationmorph.jpg)

What will happen, if a force is applied to the patella, the force can't be applied to your ACL/MCL/PCL, and instead it will transfer to your femur/fibia/tibia, causing a lever, which puts the force on the bone instead of the knee. Same with a healing bone. The healed part is strong, but the link between the weak and strong is where the break is. So, a bone that was broken may have a chance of breaking again, but definately not in the same spot.

EDIT: To make the post relivant, the knee brace thing could also apply to medieval armor, (plate, most specifically), if you do not have protection for the upper thigh. As much as I doubt that a piece of steel could break your femur, it's a possibility. I know that any modern knee-brace has loads more strength than anything made in the 1600's.

Jesus, you ask a lot of questions.  I'm in a bit of a rush, but I can run through most of the soft-tissue stuff for you sometime later.  Sorry.  As for bones, yes, they do heal at pre-break strength.  Mama Sumae and Archonsod are right on. 

Cool. You learn something new every day.

13 Spider Bloody Chain said:

1) Injuries by a steel sword, the sword having the dimensions of the sword second from the far right...
1a) Impalement through the center of the lower torso, from the front? This should at least rupture the small intestines. Will such an impalement also damage the spine?

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Small intestines and possibly the stomach.  Depending on blade entry angle, you could, in theory, sever the spine, but it would be incredibly difficult.  More than likely, the blade would skitter off the spine, possibly nicking/severing the descending aorta, iliac arteries, or iliac veins.  While this would cause rather impressive damage, it isn't particularly likely or instantly debilitating.  Muscularly, you're going to damage the rectus abdominalis and internal/external/transverse obliques.

1b) Impalement through the center of the lower torso, from the side? This should at least rupture the small and large intestines, possibly even the liver and/or the spleen. Will such an impalement also damage the spine?

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This entirely depends on where the blade enters.  The stomach, spleen, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, and appendix are all possible targets depending on the exact point of entry.  From here on, I will assume that the center of the abdomen is roughly equal to the belly button.  At this point, since internal anatomy varies slightly per individual, any of the above organs are possible targets.  Unless the blade enters very close to the back, hitting the spine is incredibly unlikely.  Muscularly, you're hitting the latissimus dorsi and possibly the obliques. 

1c) Impalement hrough the center of the upper torso, from the front? By this I mean right through the bottom few inches of the solar plexus. Again, will this damage the spine?

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You'd tear the diaphragm and liver but not likely the spine.  Think of it this way:  a sword point is incredibly narrow and is impacting on a round, smooth surface.  It isn't likely to sever anything, though it could very well damage the vertebral disks or the vertebrae before skittering off.  Again, hitting the descending aorta or inferior vena cava is a possibility.  Rectus abdominalis muscles?

1d) Impalement through the center of the upper torso, from the side? This pretty much screws the victim over completely, as it will impale both lungs and the heart. Once again, will this damage the spine?

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Not much chance of spinal damage and its risky, given the chance of, you know, those pesky rib things.

1e) Disembowelment by a single slash? Assume that the spine has not been injured, and the slash is across the line across the lower torso equidistant from the bottom rib and the hips.

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A midline abdominal strike could rupture anything in 1b.  The rectus abdominalis and internal/external/transverse oblique muscles would all be severed.  Recovery would be essentially impossible and the muscular contractions caused by the severed muscles would render a fighter helpless almost instantly. 

1f) If the sword is removed immediately after any of the above wounds, how will this affect the victim?

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Increased tearing to muscular tissue, increased bleeding, and, in general, further pain.

[gun stuff removed]

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I don't know enough about ballistics and don't particularly have time to answer more at the moment.  Well get to the blunt trauma and knife stuff later, though the knife is largely going to resemble the sword.  For abdominal wounds, a female is essentially the same. 

Many thanks to everyone, even Kobrag. 

Sorry for asking for even more, but I also want to know the following:

For wound types 1-3 and 6-10...
Assuming that any of these injuries rupture a major organ or a major blood vessel, approximately how long does the victim have until he/she is unable to speak coherently? That is, once wounded in such a fashion, how long does a character have to say any final words?

And another that I forgot to ask under wound type 1)...
If the same blade were to be used to score a very deep cut across the victim's chest or back, what would be the effect on the body? Assume the cut is performed something like the very first cut, but does not result in total dismemberment, only a very deep cut starting from the  right shoulder and ending at the bottom left rib. Aside from the obvious muscle damage and possible bone damage, what will happen to the victim? Will he immediately gasp and keel over like in the movies? Will he be rendered unsuitable for combat due to the muscle injuries? How long does he have until he bleeds to death, assuming that no medical attention other than applying absorbent materials to the wound? How much will the effects vary?