Notes on Wound Analysis and Forensic Interpretation

Wound Characteristics and Forensic Interpretation

  • Influence of Langer's Lines on Wounds

    • Langer's lines are natural lines of tension in the skin.
    • Wounds inflicted across Langer's lines:
    • Tend to gape open significantly.
    • Wounds inflicted parallel to Langer's lines:
    • Tend to remain closed and relatively undistorted.
    • This phenomenon is often referred to as the "zipper-locked" or "bag effect."
  • Surgical vs. Street-Inflicted Wounds

    • Surgeons are familiar with these lines of tension and purposefully make their incisions parallel to them to minimize gaping and aid healing.
    • Street scene injuries (e.g., stabbings, cuts) are typically inflicted without regard for Langer's lines.
    • Consequently, these injuries are often significantly distorted.
    • The distortion results from the combined effects of skin tension and body movement.
  • Interpreting Wound Appearance

    • It is crucial to consider how an injury originally looked before skin tension and body movement caused a change in its shape.
    • Beveling or shelving of wound margins can provide important clues regarding the internal direction of a wound track.
  • Proper Handling and Documentation of Wounds

    • Wound probing should never be done indiscriminately.
    • Placement of medical devices (e.g., chest tubes):
    • If a chest tube or any other device is placed through a fortuitously located injury, this must be clearly indicated in the treatment or operative report.
    • Failure to document such interventions can lead to misinterpretation by a pathologist if the victim dies, complicating the identification and analysis of assailant-inflicted wounds (as illustrated in Figs. 25-7, 25-8, 25-9, and 25-10).
    • However, it is preferable to never insert a chest tube into a bullet wound or stab wound.
  • ## Discrepancy in Wound Track Depth

    • Autopsy or surgical exploration frequently reveals a wound track that extends inward for a distance greater than the actual length of the weapon used.
    • Fig. 25-9 is mentioned as an illustration suggesting this phenomenon.