A knife wound can have a distinct patterns, especially if the wound is a penetrating wound or puncture. In a sharp force penetrating injury caused by a knife, what can be learned from the wound is directionality, force, blade width, and depth. Knives have a handle, and at the end of that handle is what is called the hilt. In a penetrating knife wound, if the force of the penetration is strong enough, it may cause an abrasion type wound on the skin as the hilt of the knife hits the skin:
The force may also cause a bruise to the skin:
This hilt mark then provides the information on depth of the wound as the knife blade would have to penetrate the skin and tissue completely in order to create these markings.
This month we are discussing sharp force trauma. The blog topics for this month are:
- Traumatic injury categories (2/5/16)
- Knife wounds: Characteristics (2/12/16)
- Knife wounds: Patterns (2/19/16)
- Knife wounds: Directionality/Blade Width (2/26/16)
Note: To see all posts in this topic, click here
