Blunt Force Trauma

Question 1

What is the medical definition of wound?

Answer 1

Disruption to the continuit of the tissues produced by external mechanical force

Question 2

What is the legal definition of wound?

Answer 2

Breach of full thickness of skin or lining of lip - excludes bruising, abrasion)

Question 3

What mechanical force is a graze on the knee>

Answer 3

Angulation

Question 4

What are the three tissue properties?

Answer 4

Viscosity
Plasticity
Elasticity

Question 5

What are blood vessels vulnerable to?

Answer 5

Stretching

Question 6

What is semi-fluid brain vulnerable to?

Answer 6

Shearing/rotation

Question 7

What is bone vulnerable to?

Answer 7

Torsion

Question 8

What are hollow organs vulnerable to?

Answer 8

Compression

Question 9

What re the two mechanisms of abrasion?

Answer 9

1. Crushing by vertical force

2. Scraping by tangiential force- graze or scrape

Question 10

Do abrasions leave a scar?

Answer 10

No

Question 11

What are the most useful injuries forensically?

Answer 11

Abrasions- indicate site of impact, direction, nature of object and potential for trace evidence transfer

Question 12

Can bruising occur post mortem?

Answer 12

No- always vital phenomenon

Question 13

What produces the colour change in bruises?

Answer 13

Chemical degradation of haemoglobin:

haemosiderin, biliverdin, bilirubin

Question 14

What makes a bruise dark red?

Answer 14

Oxyhaemoglobin

Question 15

What makes a bruise purple/black?

Answer 15

Deoxyhaemoglobin

Question 16

What makes a bruise green after 4-5 days

Answer 16

biliverdin

Question 17

When does a bruise become yelloq?

Answer 17

7-10 days

Question 18

What mimics bruising in asian populations?

Answer 18

Mongolion blue spot

Question 19

What BFT injurt causes full thickness breach of skin?

Answer 19

Laceration

Question 20

What is a combination of abrasion, laceration and brusing?

Answer 20

Bite marks