Human and mammal bites

[Tanya Shivari]

Human and other mammal (mostly dog and cat, but also squirrel, gerbil, rabbit, guinea pig, and monkey) bites are common and occasionally cause significant morbidity and disability. The hands, extremities, and face are most frequently affected, although human bites can occasionally involve breasts and genitals.
Bites by large animals sometimes cause significant tissue trauma; about 10 to 20 people in the US, mostly children, die from dog bites each year. However, most bites cause relatively minor wounds.
(See also Rat-Bite Fever.)