Thread:Paul.rea/@comment-98.219.64.11-20140716011806/@comment-4091815-20140716012831

two points -

There's a good bit of space in the human body that bullets, knives and other foreign objects can pass through without hitting anything important. These spaces appear to be larger on television.

The sternum is bone - you can cut all the way through the flesh to the sternum and just end up bleeding a lot. I don't recommend it but humans would survive that wound as well. And again, hospitals and medical treatment on television is generally better than what the NHS can offer.

Also - we close the threads on the canon forum to make sure the answer you get is the most accurate we have to offer and not a lot of folks just jabbering on about their headcanon.