Page 117 - English Vocabulary in Use (Pre & Intermediate)

55 Health: injuries

Common injuries

An injury is damage to part of your body, usually caused by an accident in the home, on the
roads, or during a game, e.g. of football. Here are some common injuries:

What's the problem? How did it happen? Result Solution
1 I cut (v, n) my finger using a knife it’s bleeding a bit a plaster
2 I cut my leg quite badly I fell over it’s bleeding quite a lot a bandage (n, v)
3 I twisted my ankle running for a bus I can’t walk on it easily rest
4 I broke my arm I fell off my bike I can’t use it plaster (U) and
a sling
5 I’ve got concussion playing football I’m confused; don’t rest
know where Iam
6 I burnt my hand taking something out it’s very painful special cream
of a hot oven
7 [ve got a bruise {(n, v) I hit it on the side it’s swollen and ice pack
on my arm of my desk blue/black in colour
Hospital treatment

Look carefully at the key words in these texts.
John fell off a chair, hit his head on the floor, and knocked himself unconscious. His wife
called an ambulance but John was still unconscious when it arrived. He was rushed to
hospital (= taken very quickly) where they kept him for two days for blood tests.
I jumped for the ball and collided with another player
(= we ran into / hit each other). We both had cuts on our
head, but I had to go to hospital for eight stitches.

Wounds and injuries
Wound (n, v) and injury are both used to describe damage to the body, but a wound is
generally caused by a weapon (e.g. gun or knife) and it is usually intentional.

He shot the man in the chest. (= a bullet wound in the chest) [from a gun]
He stabbed the boy in the back. (= a knife wound in the back)
He got into a fight and got beaten up. He had a black eye and two broken ribs.

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English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate)