ABSTRACT
Lacerations are tears in tissue. Similar to contusions, they may occur in the skin, so¤ tissue, or internal organs. Lacerations occur when tissues are stretched from a shearing or crushing force (Di Maio and Di Maio 2001). ey commonly have irregular, contused, and abraded margins. Bridging tissue is the incomplete tearing of the connective tissue and vascular structures within a laceration. e —nding of bridging tissue within a wound is helpful to distinguish a laceration from a knife wound or a wound from another sharp object, which typically contains bridging tissue because knives and sharp objects cut rather than tear tissue. It is not unusual to —nd foreign material embedded in lacerations and deep abrasions when the injury is from severe trauma, such as a motor vehicle accident. Amputations are severe forms of lacerations. Skeletal fractures are lacerations of bone.
