wounds

Wound man - from 'Methods of curing wounds made by gunshot' (1617) Source: Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Wound_Man.jpg)

Classification of Wounds

Any doctor may be asked to examine a person who has been wounded, particularly in casualty.

Forensic physicians and pathologists are also asked to examine wounds, whether they are serious or trivial, and whether the injured person is alive or dead.

The identification and description of wounds may have serious medico-legal implications at a later stage, and often after some considerable time has passed since the wounding. It is therefore essential that different types of wounds can be correctly identified and described, with a full description being made in notes taken at the time of, or shortly after the examination ('contemporaneous notes').

A wound is the term given to tissue damage caused by mechanical force. This includes wounds caused by stabbing, blunt trauma (punching, kicking, beating etc), strangling, biting, shooting, falling from a height, being hit by a vehicle, and blast trauma from explosives.

Descriptions of wounds must include,

	the nature of the wound, ie whether it is a bruise, abrasion or laceration etc
	the wound dimensions, eg length, width, depth etc. It is helpful to take a photograph of the wound with an indication of dimension (eg a tape measure placed next to the wound), and for measurements to be taken of the wound as it appears first, and then with wound edges drawn together (if it is a laceration etc).
	the position of the wound in relation to fixed anatomical landmarks, eg distance from the midline, below the clavicle etc
	the height of the wound from the heel (ie ground level) - this is particularly important in cases where pedestrians have been struck by motor vehicles

The following pages will illustrate the main types of wounds, including

	abrasions
	bruises/ contusions
	lacerations
	incised wounds
	punches
	kicks
	bite marks
	defence injuries

Wikipedia links

	Skin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin)
	Injury (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injury)
	Bruise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruise)
	Punch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_%28strike%29)
	Kick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick)

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