Very good thread on stuff that knife and saw users should know.

Is this kind of thing covered in any Red Cross First Aid course?

In Band of Brothers, it was mentioned that, if the the femoral
artery was cut, it could withdraw, all the way into the pelvic
area, where normal medics could not stop the bleeding.
Does anyone know if this is really rare, given that the artery
was cut?
Could an EMT, medic, nurse etc even tell it happened?