A contusion may lead to a collection where blood and lymph flow into surrounding tissue and clotting is encapsulated by connective tissue, forming a?

• A. Muscle Sprain
• B. Myofascial Knot
• C. Hematoma
• D. Contusion

Answer: (C)

A hematoma is a localized collection of blood outside the vessels that forms after trauma. When a contusion injures small blood vessels, blood and sometimes lymph leak into surrounding tissue. The body’s healing response walls off this bleeding with connective tissue, and the blood clots, becoming encapsulated. This creates a contained lump of clotted blood—a hematoma. The other options describe different things: a muscle sprain is ligament injury, a myofascial knot is a trigger point in muscle, and a contusion refers to the bruise itself rather than the organized collection of blood.