The Characteristics of Bruises
What Affects the Appearance of a Bruise? Bruising is one of the most common types of physical injury observed in victims of violence, assault, and abuse. There are several factors that affect a bruise’s appearance,…
What Affects the Appearance of a Bruise? Bruising is one of the most common types of physical injury observed in victims of violence, assault, and abuse. There are several factors that affect a bruise’s appearance,…
PHYSICAL SIGNS OF ABUSE When searching “physical signs of abuse,” many journals and websites list the following physical characteristics: Bruises Cuts Burns Restraint or grip markings Black eyes Unusual pattern of injury Repeated trips to…
Our faithful readers may remember that I wrote a newsletter back in 2011 called “Can One Punch Kill” but it has been many years since then and I asked one of my nurses to…
A strange occurrence at a Massachusetts hospital Articles by Forensic Magazine and New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Between 2012 to 2016, fourteen patients showed up at a Massachusetts hospital with a strange problem. All…
Ultraviolet Radiation and Forensics In forensics, ultraviolet radiation is used to enhance injuries of the skin. It has been reported that ultraviolet radiation can help visualize an old bruise and can also estimate the shape…
Those of you who follow me know I have several posts about how you can’t date bruises by color, but there is emerging literature to show that bruises can be dated on tissue analysis: How…
In April, I covered delirium and noted that there are many underlying etiologies that can cause it. One such etiology is Wernicke encephalopathy. What is encephalopathy? Encephalopathy is a general term describing any disease of…
In April, I covered delirium and noted that there are many underlying etiologies that can cause it. One such etiology is hypoperfusion. When the blood flow is cut off to the vital organs, the body…
In April, I covered delirium and noted that there are many underlying etiologies that can cause it. One of those etiologies is a condition called hypertensive crisis, or more specifically, hypertensive encephalopathy. If you have…
In April, I covered delirium and noted that there are many underlying etiologies that can cause it. One of those underlying causes is brain injuries, or intracranial processes such as stroke, tumor or traumatic injury.…
For both prosecutors and defense attorneys, it’s often important to know the defendant’s state of mind to litigate the case. If a defendant has a medical condition or traumatic injury that could result in hypoxia…
In many of our cases we come across symptoms of delirium and are asked to determine if they are due to the assumed etiology, like alcohol or drug intoxication; or from something else, like seizures,…