Forensic Pathology for Police - Brainshare Public Online Library

398 14 Sharp Force Injury Deaths
Fig. 14.25 A laceration (from blunt force trauma), mimicking a sharp force injury
earlier, the circumstances and the presence of “tissue bridging” within the depths
of lacerations will aid in distinguishing them from sharp force trauma. Severe blunt
trauma/deceleration injuries that result in amputations and/or decapitation can also
mimic sharp force trauma. Injuries sustained when a part of the body comes into
contact with a tight cable or rope can likewise mimic a sharp force injury. To an
extent, with some of these injuries, the trauma may actually be best thought of as
representing a combined sharp/blunt injury complex.
Two other artifacts that can mimic sharp force injury include decompositional
skin splitting, which was addressed previously, and artifacts related to the embalming
process. An instrument known as a “trocar” is utilized for embalming purposes,
and is a relatively long, hollow, rigid metal rod with a sharp end. It is inserted
through a stab wound placed in the abdomen. Embalming fluid is then injected
through the device, into the organs of the trunk, as the trocar is thrust repetitively
into the internal organs. When an autopsy is performed on a body that has been
previously embalmed using a trocar, the internal organs of the trunk have numerous
trocar “stab wounds” (see Chapter 21).
Disc Image Legends
Disc Image 14.1 A single stab wound.
Disc Image 14.2 A knife used in a multiple stab wound homicide.
Disc Image 14.3 An irregularly-shaped stab wound characterized by multiple
intersecting stab wounds.
Disc Image 14.4 Multiple stab wounds of the back.
Disc Image 14.5 A serrated knife blade.
Disc Image 14.6 A stab wound of the arm with an entrance and exit site. Often, it is
impossible to determine which wound is the entrance and which is the exit.
Disc Image 14.7 A regular, standard screwdriver.
Disc Image14.8 Another example of an incised wound of the neck.