ANTH 245 1st Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture - Long bone fractures- Skull fractures- Head TraumaOutline of Current Lecture- Sharp force trauma in soft tissue (4 types)- ID of weapon- MOD- Defense wounds- Suicide woundsCurrent LectureSharp Force Trauma (SFT)- Blunt force with a sharp instrument- E.g., knives, swords, axes- Less force needed than with BFTSFT in Soft Tissue- Incisedo Cuts, slasheso Length of the wound along greater than the deptho No tissue bridging - Stabo Wound depth is greater than wound widtho Unlikely an accidento Stab wounds can leave contusion if knife is shoved in enough to hit soft tissue with the handle leaving a bruiseo Stab wounds - single edged weapon or double edged weapon?- Chopo Heavy instruments with a cutting edge- e.g., axes, machetes, meat cleaverso Weapons are heaviero Combo of BFT and SFTo Can often have abraded margins o Tend to leave very gaping woundso Wound often wedge-shapedo Can be an accident, homicide, or dismemberments - Therapeutic Woundso Surgical stab wounds and incisionso Chest tubes, abdominal drains, etc. o Surgical interventions done to try to save the persons lifeo May occlude/alter pre-existing wounds Sharp Trauma to Bones- Incised: slices bone, causes long V-shaped scratches - Stab: Cuts bone - Chop: Crushes and cuts bone Measuring Wound Track- Measure length, width, depth of the wound- Provides an idea of the direction- E.g., stav traveled from:- Left to right- Upward- Front to Back External Wound Morphology- Victim movement and/or twisting the knife creates an irregularly shaped wound, such as a Y-shaped or L-shaped incision ID of weapon- Class characteristics - Length, width, thickness of blade- Single or double-edged blade- Grooving, serrations on blade - Sharpness- Individual characteristics- e.g., nicks on blade or unusual weapon - Typically serrations only seen on bone- But, if dragged along surface of skin, can leave small incised woundsWounds Morphology - Patterned Weapons- Unique instruments are identifiable from the wound pattern MOD- Homicide- Suicide- Accidental - Most deaths from SFT are homicides - Homicidal wounds are typically to the chest, abdomen- Death may not be very rapid- Examine position of weapon, blood evidence at scene, nature/number of wounds, etc. Defense Wounds- Typically on back, side of arm; palm or fingers- Associated with contusion, abrasions, and fractures- Can be on leg if individual is on the ground Suicidal Wounds- Seen on anterior surface of body, typically linear incisions- Hesitation marks common (False starts is a better term)- Contusions are rare- Defense wounds are absent- Clothing moved - Examine body for old scars representing previous attempts Take Home Points- SFT is BFT with a sharp object- Categorized as incised, stab, chop, and therapeutic- ID of class and individual characteristics of weapon from wound morphology dependent of multiple variables- Homicidal and suicidal SFT differentiated by wound location and
View Full Document