ABSTRACT
In the discipline of forensic pathology, injuries must be described precisely. The words used to describe these injuries have exact meanings. For example, a laceration is the tearing or splitting of tissue by blunt force. An autopsy report describing a laceration brings a visual picture of the injury to any forensic pathologist because of the descriptive language used. In addition, many injury descriptions are based on the object causing the injury. For instance, a laceration is the tearing of tissue caused by a blunt object striking or transmitting energy to the tissue. The forensic pathologist who sees a large laceration in a homicidal head injury can therefore tell the police to look for a blunt object, not a knife (Figure 4.1a and 4.1b). Described below are some common injuries, with illustrations. See the “References and Suggested Reading” section for more indepth studies of forensic injuries.
