Zombies, Do they bleed?

[kek]

I was just thinking about this, do we know if the zombies bleed or anything? Since blood is so important in living bodies, I was wondering if that would tell us anything about the infection, the zombies, and anything else like that. I'm new to the forum so I do not know if this has been discussed already. Just a thought...

[spellchekk]

Yup they do. When they are struck blood sprays out, and in the episode at the water plant Riley says that they shot the massive zombie and it bled from the bullet holes. I think it's mentioned in a few other episodes as well.
This means that their cardiovascular system is still functioning, or else the blood would have congealed in their veins.

[kek]

yes, that would mean a lot. The white blood cells might still be functioning, but obviously not properly. Since the blood is responsible in part for fighting infection. And blood must not be vital to their lives, otherwise a shot to the heart would bring them down and obviously that hasn't been working. Blood also carries oxygen, but fro the eisode with the zombies coming out of the water they did not seem to have the need to breath, so would their blood not carry oxygen? Probably not that important, but as a nursing student, I have been wondering about their physiology and anatomy.

[Teethingbiscuit]

Totally cool comments kek,
In my lowly opinion the infection (what ever the infection is) is either keeping the body living or is animating the body while feeding off the body, but could be staved off by feeding on fresh/fresh-ish flesh.
I wondered how they kept hydrated especially if there is a leak like a bullethole or a gouge or rot.
If there is an issue about oxygen then perhaps the infection feeds on the waste the cells produce and in turn feed the cells? (longshot) If it is imagination I'll venture to imagine an ecosystem within the infected body. A failing one based on the condition of the infected and the supposed need for consumption (That must be polly shore as the one with the markings!)
T

[nikvoodoo]

We know the tower describes the zombies as smelling like shit and we keep trying to find reasons why. What if they smell like shit because it's literally shit. Have we ever seen the zombies drop their pants and use a toilet? Clean up after themselves? I haven't. I also would question why in the world we were subjected to hearing that.

If their digestive system is functional, it's got to go somewhere. Maybe the smell isn't a symptom of the problem.

I'd like to thank the psychotic homeless man who reeked of an outhouse who was beating the living shit out of himself on the subway today who inspired this thought. Also thanks for not hitting me despite your threats.

[yarri]

If it bleeds, sleeps and breaths I would assume its alive (and we have seen the zombies do all of that)
The shit smell.. can be a number of things.. Nik's utterly detailed and "visual" post was accurate. Add to that unwashed bodies and add to that the possibility that what ever changed them also altered their pheromone or scent to put off an odor like a skunk or musk rat..

[kek]

nik, you raise another good point. Since they eat, we have to assume that their intestines are working properly (well at least efficiently enough for their survival) and eating whatever they do does mean they will have to relieve themselves somewhere, somehow, since nobody has mentioned bloated zombies wandering around. What if they have to eat flesh to keep their flesh from completely stop working? blood is extremely important in the maintenance and such of the body, so perhaps they need to eat flesh to get blood?

and biscuit, that is also a good point about leaking. What happens to the zombies who are filled with holes and broken bones? Do they continue as they usually would, or do they become bodies that the rest of the zombies then take away to their little hidey hole they have now that the arena is no more? They have mentioned before how disgusting the zombies are and how bad they smell, perhaps they have festering wounds? So many possibilities! lol

As I have mentioned before, I think as I type, so some of this may not make any sense, or may contradict itself but it is a mystery as to what theses zombies are, and how they work so I am just going with whatever my brain spits out lol.

[spellchekk]

The zombies still produce silva so thats another point that their digestive system is working and breaking down food, also they can eat food other than people or animals since one was seen eating a can of something in a market.

I was under the assumption that the zombies do breathe, but it was not necessary. Sort of like habit. If they didn't then how could the chloroform work on them? And wouldn't they have to breathe in to smell?

[Hollomandious]

The zombies still produce silva so thats another point that their digestive system is working and breaking down food, also they can eat food other than people or animals since one was seen eating a can of something in a market.

I was under the assumption that the zombies do breathe, but it was not necessary. Sort of like habit. If they didn't then how could the chloroform work on them? And wouldn't they have to breathe in to smell?

I think Saul said it best...

Angel - Listen to yourself? The dead, rising?
Saul - Who said they were dead?

But the breathing thing has me stuck. The ones that came from Catalina and were walking along the bottom of the water. Highly doubt they were breathing underwater, or maybe they grew gills and we don't know it? (i'm still bitter about not getting a zombie shark).

[nikvoodoo]

But the breathing thing has me stuck. The ones that came from Catalina and were walking along the bottom of the water. Highly doubt they were breathing underwater, or maybe they grew gills and we don't know it? (i'm still bitter about not getting a zombie shark).

Do we know for a fact that they walked along the ocean floor? If they were swimming shallow and bobbing up for air would Pegs and Michael even noticed?

[kek]

Do we know for a fact that they walked along the ocean floor? If they were swimming shallow and bobbing up for air would Pegs and Michael even noticed?

We don't know for sure if they were walking along the bottom. I think theres a good chance they would have noticed if they were on the surface though, Pegs and Michael were swimming through the water toward the boat, any odd movement probably would have caught their eye. maybe the zombies just dont need as much air? or, depending how far the island was from the boat, maybe the zombies came while michael and pegs were inside the boat. Riley did not mention seeing any zombies though before they arrived at the boat did she? and wouldn't she have seen them if she was looking towards the boat from the shore?

[Hollomandious]

We don't know for sure if they were walking along the bottom. I think theres a good chance they would have noticed if they were on the surface though, Pegs and Michael were swimming through the water toward the boat, any odd movement probably would have caught their eye. maybe the zombies just dont need as much air? or, depending how far the island was from the boat, maybe the zombies came while michael and pegs were inside the boat. Riley did not mention seeing any zombies though before they arrived at the boat did she? and wouldn't she have seen them if she was looking towards the boat from the shore?

Correction, Kelly, not Riley.

The comment was made, back during the chloroform experiment, that "sharks can smell 1 drop of blood in a million drops of water." maybe, when they got in, they attracted them. Maybe they were all sleeping/wasting away at the bottom of the water, and then were awoken by the smell in the water?

[kek]

Correction, Kelly, not Riley.

The comment was made, back during the chloroform experiment, that "sharks can smell 1 drop of blood in a million drops of water." maybe, when they got in, they attracted them. Maybe they were all sleeping/wasting away at the bottom of the water, and then were awoken by the smell in the water?

I meant Kelly...

That could be true too, since it had been mentioned many times about the zombies having a good sense of smell.

[spellchekk]

Perhaps the zombies do need oxygen, if their bodies can still process food then they should be able to process air. Without oxygen their muscles would lock up and not be able to move properly, but I suppose that would not really matter to them since they already seem to exert their muscles with their excessive speed and strength.

[MancheeLivesOn]

Seeing how the zombies seem to be functioning so inefficiently how long can the outbreak last? Between starvation and a general lack an ability to reproduce the zombies will die off from natural means faster than they can rebuild their numbers. Starvation and freezing are going to be the leading causes of zombie death in the winter I guarantee.

[ZombieNick]

I think Saul said it best...

Angel - Listen to yourself? The dead, rising?
Saul - Who said they were dead?

But the breathing thing has me stuck. The ones that came from Catalina and were walking along the bottom of the water. Highly doubt they were breathing underwater, or maybe they grew gills and we don't know it? (i'm still bitter about not getting a zombie shark).
Holy crap. Shark zombies? Awesome. All they need freak'n lazer beams attacted to their heads.

[Eitri]

They dont have time to bleed, But if it bleeds you can kill it, so.

[Eviebae]

I was just thinking that the main thing we know about the zombies is that they adjust to whatever is thrown at them. If you give them chloroform they adjust to either metabolize it quicker, or, change the physical process involved. Thing is, how does this virus or whatever know what is a threat and what isn't?

[usmcludwig]

I was just thinking that the main thing we know about the zombies is that they adjust to whatever is thrown at them. If you give them chloroform they adjust to either metabolize it quicker, or, change the physical process involved. Thing is, how does this virus or whatever know what is a threat and what isn't?

You'd be amazed in how quickly a pathogen adapts to threats in the regular world already. Think about the common cold- a simple virus that if in all relative theory a cough medicine/flu shot could cure...if it wasn't for the ever changing designs of the strain that is the common cold and a many other viruses.

And I will just go out and venture that they ARE dead by the way. They eat due to primal instincts that the virus programs the host to carry out (for the obvious reason of how a virus thinks- to spread itself)- this too doesn't mean the food DIGEST. Ever hear of bloating? The guck could just sit in the stomach and cause their stomachs to expand, also causing a horrid smell. I seen that shit in dead people who had eaten prior to their deaths and discovered a time later. Dear God- you will never forget that smell, it STABS at your gag reflex.

To an earlier comment trying to describe the shit smell- I would just have to disagree/agree simultaneously. Agree on this- yes, they probably did shit themselves, but probably only once- the last true FOOD they ate- the only food that was properly DIGESTED. Disagree on the ever resonating scent of shit- I would venture to say that's probably rotting flesh. ANOTHER body I've sadly smelt...you never want to find a dead person in the desert man- their bodies are practically well-done charred due to constant sun exposure and let me tell ya- humans don't smell like any steak when cooked sadly...so I would try to tie this experience in with the UNDEAD and say that to be exposed for God knows how long to Nature's elements is something that could cause significant odor.

As for sustaining the body in conditions like being underwater- I would have to guess that the body goes to a primal state due to the virus- minimizing the bodies usual necessities (O2, blood flow, brain function, ext) to a very primal state of functioning- maybe a sub-conscious level of operating. In all reality- zombies are the EVOLUTION of human beings...well, maybe mutation would be a better word- but it's along the lines of they are superior to us on a physical aspect.

In the world of W.A. tho- TOWTM seems to posses not only the physical superiority, but also intellectual- making me think that he/she is a mutation of a mutation or if not that, a "Patient 0" and the subsidiaries of the virus that he/she spread are lesser beings and perhaps carry only fractions of his/her power (as seen as the runners are only fast, the smart ones are purely smart/creative, the big ones are purely physical and the regular ones are only spreaders/gatherers)

But back on track- bleeding. I think this is a matter of story telling time-line. Do I think they bled in the earlier stages- sure- fresh bodies=fresh blood, even enough to spray. But this far along in the story- I don't see it as probable due to coagulation (which not even a virus could alter since oxygen WILL get into the blood unless it is kept warm- to my knowledge at least), this is unless there are NEW zombies (like those being drug to the hospital in ch 23).

I do have a further theory based on metaphysics- but I will not even go there unless asked to.

[cleeprevo]

I would think so. If their blood is pumping then they can bleed, and they didn't say they were dead. Which means their blood could still be pumping.

[usmcludwig]

I would think so. If their blood is pumping then they can bleed, and they didn't say they were dead. Which means their blood could still be pumping.

I don't see how they couldn't be dead. Being exposed to the heat, dead bodies (including eating of them) among other things. That would kill living humans in no time.

The only theory of them somehow just being "infected" and alive would be that the virus they are exposed to makes them EXTREMELY resilient to disease, climate conditions, malnutrition, pain and apparently most anything else that would ail and ultimately kill a regular human.

Reanimation just makes more sense (in a science-fiction type way). At least then, you know what a normal dead person is and can just calculate in the virus which reanimates the corpse basic motor functions and gives them the yearning to spread the virus.

[JusticePain]

They are from the CDC man. They are fast ones and smart they are tricky too. Like a foamy!!!! The are small to veryveryvery tricky cleaver to like meat and a meeting of the small one as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nikvoodoo]

I don't see how they couldn't be dead. Being exposed to the heat, dead bodies (including eating of them) among other things. That would kill living humans in no time.

The only theory of them somehow just being "infected" and alive would be that the virus they are exposed to makes them EXTREMELY resilient to disease, climate conditions, malnutrition, pain and apparently most anything else that would ail and ultimately kill a regular human.

Reanimation just makes more sense (in a science-fiction type way). At least then, you know what a normal dead person is and can just calculate in the virus which reanimates the corpse basic motor functions and gives them the yearning to spread the virus.

Damn...I thought I responded to this idea when you posted it. I'm losing my edge in the between season time.....

I don't even think that the virus/whatever it happens to be needs to increase the resilience to things. What I think could be happening is a disruption to the nervous system of some manner. They still take the damage just like anything else, but their bodies are capable of ignoring the pain signals being sent. We've seen one walking on a broken leg, multiple zombies get shot and keep coming, but I think the most telling sign is the Jumper in chapter 12.

The Jumper is the only zombie that has been encountered (just off memory, I don't recall this as fact at the moment) that we know for a fact died from a traumatic body injury and not a head shot. So it seems like the zombies are alive but just don't feel pain and die from killing the brain, or by causing so much damage to the body it's physically not capable of living anymore.

[zorakid]

I always considered them to be alive, just like the infected in 28 days later and Quarantine. Realistically speaking, the human body cannot function without blood flow. But i guess it really depends on how the author constructs the setting. For example, in the novel world war Z, the zombies don't have blood circulation yet it's still a sci-fi zombie type of book instead of voodoo magic.

[usmcludwig]

I always considered them to be alive, just like the infected in 28 days later and Quarantine. Realistically speaking, the human body cannot function without blood flow. But i guess it really depends on how the author constructs the setting. For example, in the novel world war Z, the zombies don't have blood circulation yet it's still a sci-fi zombie type of book instead of voodoo magic.

Max Brooks explains in The Zombie Survival guide how Solanum (his zombie virus) works in the physiology of the undead tho- clearly noting the working of the blood in them.



The Jumper is the only zombie that has been encountered (just off memory, I don't recall this as fact at the moment) that we know for a fact died from a traumatic body injury and not a head shot. So it seems like the zombies are alive but just don't feel pain and die from killing the brain, or by causing so much damage to the body it's physically not capable of living anymore.

That can be so in any zombie structure tho- severing the nerve's threw spinal trauma should be a sure fire way to permanently disable a zombie- living or undead.

But yes- they can be alive- can't throw that out the window...

[kek]

I was just thinking about what Michael said in the beginning about the zombies having scars. It takes a while to form scars and it can't happen if the tissue and flesh are dead. I think this is evidence that the people originally infected might have been tested on. Or that the cells in the infected are indeed alive. They would need blood to form scabs and to keep the wounds closed to form the scar tissue.

So would the zombies be able to fight infections? Blood and flesh are usually warm and wet, perfect places for microbes to live and grow. That would mean the zombies are infected with bountiful microorganisms and bacteria. So would they be able to fight that, or do zombies get the flu? It also brings back the blood thing, since white blood cells fight off infections. Would the zombies have working WBCs, or does it even matter to them that they are crawling in bacteria?

Just some thoughts as I take a break from studying for my microbiology exam....

[gaijinpunk]

Going back to the original question "Do zombies bleed?"

They WOULD continue to bleed (from a wound low on their body) until the fluids drained down below the level of the wound. When a corpse rests on it's back, much of the fluid within sinks downward towards it's back (same for if it's laying on it's side, face etc.) and causes what looks like heavy bruising.
Now, since a true zombie's heart wouldn't pump, and clotting is a characteristic of LIVING beings, it would eventually cease to bleed due to lack of fluid (which it wouldn't need anyway).
The INFECTED (which is what I kind of think the creatures in WA are) would need to breathe, would need to eat, sleep, crap. Everything a normal human would need to do, but their nerves no longer send pain impulses to their brains, or if they do, the part of their brain that recognizes it (along with most of their intelligence, personality and higher brain functions) would be toast. They'd ignore wounds (while still being venerable to damage and possibly bleeding out) , they wouldn't have any bowel control (which would make them smell like shit. but then again, the first thing you do when you DIE is shit yourself as your bowels release, so true zombies would smell the same way), they'd be able to make their bodies perform at the peak of it's ability due to the lack of pain (again, the impulse doesn't reach their brain. Unlike a true zombie though, as long as they feed and rest the INFECTED might be able to heal minor damage over time) and their circulatory system would still operate, along with their immune system. So INFECTED would bleed, as long as their hearts continued beating.
That was an excellent question, by the way, kek. :zombie:

[yarri]

We don't know for sure if they were walking along the bottom. I think theres a good chance they would have noticed if they were on the surface though, Pegs and Michael were swimming through the water toward the boat, any odd movement probably would have caught their eye. maybe the zombies just dont need as much air? or, depending how far the island was from the boat, maybe the zombies came while michael and pegs were inside the boat. Riley did not mention seeing any zombies though before they arrived at the boat did she? and wouldn't she have seen them if she was looking towards the boat from the shore?

Or with their more primitive brain they need less and adapted a mammalian diving reflex and shunted all the 02 they had to their chests and vital organs. Or prehaps they got gills? hmmm

[7oddisdead]

So do the nerve tissues in the body need oxygen to continue to function? I know most every part if the body derives some form of nourishment from air...but if the nerve center is only running off electrical energy...is breathing needed...the lack of oxygen in the body could explain the bruising seen early on...hmm there's something to all of this...but I know very little of all this...carry on medical people!

[kek]

Nerves need a blood supply, they do need oxygen to work. Nerves can work for a very short period of time with limited oxygen, but then the nerves and their axons will suffer damage that may or may not be able to be repaired by a continuation of blood/oxygen supply. There will be damage to the nerves that will not be able to be fixed at all. The nerves will then begin to atrophy and misfire due to oxygen deprivation, if it happens too long. This can result in brain damage and loss of muscle control, and other problems.

[yarri]

My money's on gills :D

[7oddisdead]

So muscle atrophy and brain damage, to a normal human(or cadaver)...but I suppose the question could become how would blood itself be affected by a lack of oxygen?..im just trying to build something in my mind here. If we had the presence of blood, bleeding...yet the lack of oxygen to the bloodstream...visually, how much different would that look? Say, to an open wound..and in a Sci fi type environment what could replace oxygen within the human body and still maintain some type of nourishment for the body? We could possibly be talking on a evolution of the species scale here...or...gills:)

[kek]

If blood does not have enough oxygen, it is blue-ish. That is why some visible veins appear blue. They are on the way back to the heart to get oxygen. (That is the simplified explanation).So if the blood did not have oxygen, and if the zombies were bleeding, conceivably their blood could be blue.

[7oddisdead]

man..my brain is swimming with possiblities..blue zoms...gills....bluegills....im done here..

[Anhysbys]

Oooh, the sleep thing is what gets at me. Sleep isn't necessarily for the human brain; the human brain can run off just being rested in a low activity state like say closing your eyes, but not falling asleep. Sleep is to rest the body; when a person sleeps the muscles have a chance to unwind and relax without having to be strained. This would mean that the "zombies" have limits. The dead don't need to limit themselves. They also have an active cardio-vascular system that keeps blood flowing to their nervous system and throughout the body. Whenever you see them in a scene without them noticing any survivor's they groan and gurgle in a breathing kind of manner which is not a form of communication *reference to the scene when a group of zombies surrounds the hummer while Saul and Angel are in the store and one of the zombies comes in*. They also seem to have a basic understanding of technology like the sensor doors on the store (not that they know how to use it, just that some doors already open for them conveniently). I get this wonderful picture in my mind of a zombie being pleasantly surprised and smiling and giggling at the open door like a toddler.

[nikvoodoo]

Oooh, the sleep thing is what gets at me. Sleep isn't necessarily for the human brain; the human brain can run off just being rested in a low activity state like say closing your eyes, but not falling asleep. Sleep is to rest the body; when a person sleeps the muscles have a chance to unwind and relax without having to be strained.

Sorry, but this is factually incorrect.

The Human brain needs sleep just as much as the body needs it to rest and recoup. Without getting the requisite amount of sleep (which does vary from person to person) cognitive awareness suffers, the person becomes irritable and becomes incapable of creating and storing new memories among other issues. If your brain doesn't get enough rest, just like the body, the brain begins to shut down and under perform on all functions. As a person who suffered from insomnia for years (and occasionally still do at times) trust me when I say if your Brain doesn't get a normal night's rest, it's horrible.

[Anhysbys]

Yes, I have some sleep problems too it's not that uncommon nowadays sadly. <br />
<br />
What actually puts people to sleep is melatonin in the brain. Which Melatonin, you being an insomniac should know what...

[kek]

To the best of my knowledge, there has been nothing about the WA zombies sleeping. We do not know what they do when they are not around eating people and whatnot. We don'r see the zombies just laying...

[Anhysbys]

The part where Saul and Angel have just saved Burt and hooked him up to the IV when they wake up in the morning to find themselves surrounded and Saul asked Angel (if I remember correctly) something along the lines of "What are they doing? Are they sleeping?" As you hear snoring in the background, which Burt is awake by then (if I remember correctly again which I think it was actually multiple snoring voices/noises?).

Although that bleed out thing is correct, we have seen that these WA zombies are extremely adaptive and can survive even the most fatal looking of wounds, I mean look at Tommy he took a shot to the chest and got back up after faking them out. I wouldn't be surprised if loss of blood would affect them differently than a normal person.

Back to the sleep thing, it relaxes a majority of the muscles so they no longer work in the semi-strained state that they go through throughout the day, just from being active. Learned from working out that just going nonstop over a week makes you feel like Hell if you don't take a day to just go into a low-power mode and just avoid strenuous activity. Makes me think these zombies with their activity are just tearing their muscles to kingdom come, along with lactic acid build-up slowing them down.

I believe they can feel pain as removing the feeling of damage to the body is relatively hard to do without just removing feeling altogether (which Tommy obviously could as he got shot in the chest he reacted quickly and accordingly with intelligence). However, an extremely high pain tolerance seems more probable. This also leads me to believe that they do have blood as without blood, as you said oxygen can't flow. Leaving zombies with absolutely no feeling (which actually could contradict me if someone brings a non-blood side into this debate).

Rambling is good, it helps release your though at can stimulate thoughts that you wouldn't normally bring out and helps with connections.

[Wicked Sid]

It all depends on if they actually do need oxygen or not. We have no idea how this contagion (what I find to be the best word for it) works. Maybe they only breath out of muscle memory (something the contagion could not have destroyed). Maybe they sleep due to the fact that they want sleep, rather than need it or maybe as a way to pass time.

It is quite possible that the contagion has rewired the body to function off of much less oxygen, thereby removing the need to rest frequently. Pain could be a non-issue for them as the contagion may have eradicated the neural receptors which convey the feeling of pain which should cause fear.

[kek]

I don't think they feel pain. I think I remember something about a zombie walking around with a broken leg or something, not sure if that really happened. But it seems they do not have pain, since they don't stop when they are getting shot at. They don't react like any normally functioning creature would when wounded. Any creature, animal or human, avoids pain. If an animal with survival instincts learns that if they go near a particular place and are hurt whenever they go, they will learn to avoid the place. The zombies, on the other hand, do not avoid places like the Tower, where they are hurt and killed. This could also be because it is a food source, but I think part of it is that they do not feel the pain, at least in the same way a normal creature would.

I agree with Wicked Sid, I think it could be a neuron thing. If they are not firing properly, the zombies would not have the normal physiological responses. Including pain response, reflexes, and things like that. It would make sense, also, if they have limited need for oxygen. Since neurons need oxygen to fire correctly, the anatomy and physiology of the zombies could have been altered, so that pain neurons were eliminated, in a way. But they would still need the neurons to the muscles, to tell the body to move and all that. So it is questionable, how it works out.

[Wicked Sid]

Much less neurons tends to equal a decreased need for oxygen. Think about it, where can you feel pain? Everywhere. How many neurons would be needed to convey that feeling from every part of your...

[kek]

I did not remember about the chloroform! You are right, it would need to circulate through the body, and it would need to be inhaled. There would need to be gas exchange in the lungs, so that it would get through the body, so obviously that tissue needs to be alive and functioning properly. Your point is a huge one in favor of zombies bleeding, and having working organs. And yes, I think this is an even stronger indication that the zombies do indeed breath. Even if it is muscle memory, the gas exchange in the alveoli (little air sacs in the bottom of the lungs) is still happening, otherwise the chloroform would have just been released upon exhalation. The effects of the chloroform wore off quickly though, which could be from either a faster metabolism, or a less effective circulation, causing the chloroform not to go all over (I don't know exactly the physiological aspects of chloroform, just the basics) and causing the zombies to wake up sooner.

However, there is still the possibility that they would bleed out, once injured then. We do not see the once that were shot or injured, so they very well could be dead somewhere, wherever they take the dead ones, and the Tower folk would not know.

I don't know if they feel touch. Since when they put the trackers on the zombies, when they woke up they did not feel the trackers on their bodies, even with sensory adaptation, they would still feel the difference, but we did not see a reaction from them when they woke up.

Way to go, Sid, you win a cookie *hands homemade chocolate chip cookie* I had completely forgotten about the chloroform.

[reaper239]

they are alive aren't they? they're not dead they're infected. kc even said at some point (i believe, corroct me if i'm wrong) head shots were not required to kill. an infection can deaden pain.

[kek]

It seems that they are alive to a point. After Sid's wonderful point of the chloroform that is what I am thinking. However, I don't think they are functioning properly, obviously. I don't remember if that was mentioned, about the head shots not being needed to kill, but it would make sense, now. Since they have some working organs (lungs at least) so then it would stand to reason that other shots should be able to kill them. Granted, it would be less effective, since they do not seem to feel pain the same way and don't seem to have such a high importance for their internal organs and fluids.

[Satanic Mechanic]

and all that's just for turned humans. Maybe all bets are off with the modified zoms.

[panzerfaust]

Zombies suck shotgun lead

[kek]

Hm, in Ch 25 part 1, Saul and Victor noted the lack of blood when the behemoth was shot. Perhaps this means something? The behemoths most likely aren't human, they were modified or made somehow, so what keeps them going? Do they not have blood, or do they just have extremely thick skin. Stronger than cement bones and whatnot, since that round did not go through the behemoth and draw blood? Interesting...

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

Whew! I'm glad I missed the start of this.. *turning off smart aleck mode*

1. SOME feel pain. Burt shooting pinstripe in the hand when he was running. It/he sounds off when it's hit. #5 didn't really dig getting it's arm torn off, but it didn't die from "blood" loss.
2. They breathe. It's the only way they can smell, it's the only way they could be knocked out.
3. They have the base emotions, namely fear. One hid from Mike during Lizzy's arrival. Pinstripe eye balling Saul's knife and deciding to run instead.
4. They feel hunger and not just for human. The beach house/dog food episode.
5. They do die from traumatic injuries, not just shots to the head. example is every fight they've been in. Tommy dying in the fire and probably from the fall.
6. They're calculating. The various traps set, the car being driven
7. They aren't reanimated. Tommy turned within several minutes of being infected.
8. They do sleep
9. They communicate and follow orders: Datu's capture. Sam's death.. the ambush on the mallers. Randy running from Michael.
10. The normal infected will bleed. While the special infected like #5 and the Behemoths probably don't bleed "blood."

so, that means that most of them die from traumatic injuries and massive disruption of bodily functions..ie Hydrostatic shock.. 5.56 lead poisoning..

Crowbar out!