Deliberate tourniquets should be placed in which manner?

• A. Placed 2-3 inches above the wound on the skin and never on a joint
• B. Directly over the wound
• C. Two inches below the wound
• D. Wrapped around the limb twice and left loose

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that a tourniquet must shut off blood flow to the limb by compressing the artery upstream of the injury, not at the site of the wound. Placing it about 2-3 inches above the wound on bare skin ensures the constriction covers the artery before it reaches the injury, giving reliable control of the hemorrhage. Avoid putting it directly over the wound because the wound itself can bleed through, and the tight band around the wound area may not reliably occlude the artery, making the bleeding harder to stop. Placing it two inches below the wound would be distal to the source of bleeding and won’t stop the arterial flow feeding the wound. Wrapping around the limb twice and leaving it loose fails to provide continuous, locked pressure, so it’s unlikely to maintain occlusion.