Types of Injury

in Forensic
Medicine

Dr.Meri Gonashvili
Koorosh Arshi
8th Semester
Dentistry
Blunt force injury
● Injury is not caused by objects without cutting edges, the nature
of the force applied may include direct blows (impacts), traction,
torsion and oblique or shearing forces, it can be divided into:
 bruises
 Abrasions
 lacerations
Bruise
● Discoloration of skin caused by the leakage of blood from
ruptured vessels.

Type of bruises:
● Ecchymosis: a flat, blue or purple patch measuring 1 centimeter
(cm) or more in diameter
● Hematoma : palpable collection of liquid blood under the skin
● Petechiae: very small 'pinpoint' ( less than about 2mm)
● Purpura: purple-colored spot is larger than petechiae
● Contusion :leakage of blood into tissues in body cavities
● Intradermal bruises: caused by leakage of blood confined to the
epidermis and the upper strata of the dermis.
●  Tramline bruises('railtrack): When a person is struck with
a cylindrical object, such as an iron bar, baseball bat, it
appears as a pale linear central area lined on either side by
linear bruising.
●  Fingertip/pad bruises :Where an assailant has forcefully
gripped a person, for example around the neck.

● There appeared to be a 'consensus' view that red, blue

and purple were 'early' colours, greens appearing after 4-7
days and yellow making a late appearance after at least 7
days and brown . Yellow colouration appeared in bruises in
calves, however, by 48 hours.
Abrasion
● Superficial skin injury which doesn’t generally penetrate the full thickness of
the epidermis, but may bleed when the vessels of the convoluted papillary dermis are
damaged.
Types:
● Scratches (linear abrasions):caused by fingernails
● Scuff (brush) abrasions: very superficial abrasions, with no bleeding
● Point or gouge abrasions: deeper linear abrasions caused by objects such as metal
nails, often with bleeding
● Friction burn: Tangential contact with a relatively smooth surface
● Gravel rash : Deep and extensive abrasion caused by contact with road in traffic
accidents
Laceration
Lacerations are caused when a blunt object or surface impacts against the skin resulting in
compression, crushing and splitting, or where a shearing force tears the skin and
subcutaneous tissues.
Characteristics :
● Usually over bony prominence
● Ragged/ irregular edges
● Bruising/abrasions
● Crushed with bridging of tissues seen
● Usually longer than deep
● Not profuse Hemorrhage
● Usually presence of Foreign bodies
Sharp force injury
Due to striking of the body by edge of any sharp object like knife
tip, broken glass, or heavy sharp objects like axe etc. they cause
injuries like:
 Incised wound
 Stab wound
 Slash wound
 Chop wound
Incised wounds
● Which are caused by light sharp cutting weapon. This can include knives and broken glass, for
example.
Characteristics :
● Anywhere
● Clean cut Margins
● No Abrasion of edges
● No adjacent bruising
● Spindle shaped or linear
● Length is the greatest dimension /Depth- Superficial
● No bridging of tissues
● Usually profuse Hemorrhage
● Nature - Drawing, sawing
Stab wounds
● Which are incised wounds where the length of injury on the surface is less than the
depth of penetration into the body.
Characteristics:
● Usually over vital organs, but can be anywhere
● Clean cut edges
● Abrasions are not present
● Depth is the greatest dimension.
• Non-pointed end may be squared off or split (fish tail or boat shaped defect)
• Usually profuse Hemorrhage
• Underlying bone may be scored by blade
Slash wounds
● Slash wounds occur as a result of tangential movements of sharp implements across the
skin surface, for example , broken glass, knives, swords etc.

Characteristics :
● Usually over head or neck & fewer injuries aimed at the upper limb and trunk.
● Clean cut edges
● Abrasions are not present
● Deeper at their origin, and tend to be more superficial at their termination
● No tissue bridges within the wound
● Slash wounds often bleed profusely
 Chop wounds
• Which are caused by heavy sharp cutting weapon such as machetes, meat cleavers,
swords, axes etc. They are often severe in nature, and can include extensive soft tissue and
bone damage. They represent a combination of sharp and blunt force trauma.
Characteristics :
● Often aimed at head
● Edges often abraded and bruised (blunt edge)
● Trench-like/ gaping
● Depth - Deep
• May cause amputations
• Fragment and comminute bone
● Nature of force applied- Striking
Punching
● A punch is a blow delivered by the clenched fist.
● Usually over bony prominence
● where the skin is closely applied to bone, as in the face,skull ,lips ,nose and forehead.
● The entire range of blunt force injuries can be caused, including:
● reddening
● swelling
● bruises
● Abrasions
● lacerations
● fractures
Bite injuries
● A bite mark can be described as a mark caused by teeth
alone, or by teeth in combination with other
● mouth parts. Bites can be human or animal.
● The appearance of bite marks made by human
teeth/mouths can vary significantly from :
● no visible injury
● reddening
● swelling
● bruising
● abrasions/cuts substantial skin
● tissue loss
● any surface of the body; neck, breasts & shoulders
● A forensic odontologist can recognise that an injury is, in
fact, a human bite mark.
THANKS