More people attend A&E following an assault on Friday and Saturday nights than at any other time, data shows.
For the first time, NHS figures revealed the time of day people are most likely to go to A&E for help.
Of almost 13.8 million A&E visits in England in 2008/09, 181,568 (1.3%) were for assault.Almost half took place over the weekend (between 6pm Friday and 1am on Monday), with a sharp peak on Friday and Saturday nights at around midnight compared with other days of the week.
However, the data, from the NHS Information Centre, is likely to be an underestimate because not all hospitals submit full records of A&E attendances.
The highest number of A&E attendances for any reason happens at 10am, with a second peak on weekdays at 6pm.
Sports injuries account for about 2% (274,056) of all A&E visits, peaking at 4pm on Saturdays, noon on Sundays and 9am on Mondays.
On every day of the week, there is a peak around midnight in the number of people attending A&E after self-harming (0.7% of all recorded attendances or 101,670 in total).
Men and women aged 20 to 29 were the most likely to visit A&E.