A bruise is a purplish mark that you get on your skin as a result of bumping into something. Also called a contusion, bruises are caused when you break or burst a small blood vessel (capillary) that is close to the surface of the skin. The blood leaks out from the capillaries, staining the soft tissue under your skin, resulting in the purplish colour of the affected skin.
Bruises last for about 2 weeks. They first appear about an hour after the damage is caused, and it will look red. By the next few days, your body will start the biochemical breakdown of the hemoglobin, the component that carries the oxygen in the blood. Over the next week and a half, the hemoglobin will continue breaking down, eventually becoming green pigment