How Alternative Light Sources Are Used In Forensics
Alternative Light Sources and Their Effectiveness in Enhancing the Visibility of Injuries History of ALS A fairly new science has emerged within the past 70 years regarding the use of alternative light sources (ALS) to enhance the visibility of injuries, being used in forensics starting around 1990. There has been research done on this topic, […]
Visualization of Old Bruises in Children
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 of the object that caused the bruise. For example, where bruising was faint, old and difficult to recognize, ultraviolet radiation […]
5 things criminal attorneys should know about…Bruises
This is the last in the “5 things criminal attorneys should know about…” series where I highlight some areas of medicine that often cross into the criminal fields. This is not meant to be an in-depth review, but rather just bullet pointed facts. If you have any subject requests let me know! [sep]For this month […]
Bruises: 5 Things Every Criminal Attorney Should Know
1. Dating bruises – bruises cannot be dated by color. IF yellow can be identified, one can determine that the bruise is at least 18 hours old. All other colors can be observed from the first minute until the bruise heals. 2. Raccoons eyes – bilateral black eyes. Can be a result of a skull fracture […]
Traumatic Injuries: GBI/SBI
In regards to Great Bodily Injury or Significant Bodily injury: Many wounds from blunt force trauma by themselves would not qualify as permanently disabling or disfiguring. The severity of the wound oftentimes is not as readily obvious as it might seem. Many lacerations bleed heavily, especially those in the head, and are not necessarily even […]
Patterned Injuries from Trauma
Patterned Injuries: These are injuries in which the physical characteristics of the wound match the object that cause them. They can be present in all types of injuries: This month’s criminal topic is Cuts and Bruises (Blunt Force Trauma). Topics covered are: Bruises and dating of them (10/3/14) Abrasions and […]
Abrasions & Lacerations
An Abrasion is a scrape from friction between the skin and another surface. The surface does not necessarily need to be hard, but the softer it is, the more friction is needed. An example of hard surface abrasions are road rash from motor vehicle accidents, where the skin is dragged one direction across the pavement. […]
Bruises & Dating of Them
Contusion: This is a bruise and is caused by an impact with a hard object or pressure that causes the blood vessels under the skin to burst and blood to leak out into the cellular space. Typically appears as a range of colors in a localized area on the skin. Current literature states that bruises […]
