 Lacerations are tears or splits of skin,

mucous membrane, muscle or internal

organs produced by application of blunt
force to broad area of the body, which
crushes or stretches tissues beyond the
limits of their elasticity.
 They are also called TEARS or RUPTURES.
•Frequently, the skin at the margins are
abraded due to the flatter portion of the
striking object rubbing against the skin,
as it is indented by the forceful blow.
•The margins are contused due to the
bleeding into the tissues caused by
trauma.
 Causes – hard & blunt objects
- fall on hard surfaces
- by machinery
- traffic accidents
 The object causing a lacerated wound crushes
and stretches a broad area of skin, which then
splits in the centre.
 The edges are irregular and rough ,because of
the crushing and tearing nature of the blunt
trauma.
1. Split Lacerations
2. Stretch Lacerations
3. Avulsion
4. Tears
5. Cut Lacerations
 Splitting occurs by crushing of the skin between
two hard objects.
 Sites – Scalp, Eyebrows, Cheek bones, etc.
 Scalp lacerations occur due to the tissues being
crushed between skull and the hard object,
such as the ground or blunt object.
 The laceration may look like an incised wound.
 Overstretching of the skin if it is fixed will cause
laceration.
 There is localised pressure with pull which
increases until tearing occurs and produces a
flap.
 Seen in victims who are runover by motor
vehicles and the direction of the flap indicates
the direction of the motion of the vehicle.
 An avulsion is a laceration produced by
sufficient force delivered at an acute angle to
detach a portion of traumatised surface or
viscus from its attachments.
 The force is of a sheering and grinding nature
,eg: a lorry wheel passing over a limb
 There is separation of the skin from the
underlying tissue over a relatively large area,
which is called “Flaying”.
 Tearing of the skin and tissues occurs from
impact by or against irregular objects
 For eg: The door handle of a car, blows from
broken glass and a fall over a rough, projecting
object.
 Cut Lacerations: Maybe produced by not so
sharp edges of a heavy, cutting weapon
 Eg:Axe,hatchet,chopper
 The type of laceration may indicate the cause of
injury and the shape of the blunt weapon
 Foreign bodies found in the wound may indicate
the circumstances in which the crime has been
committed.
 The age of the injury can be determined.
 Accidental lacerations are usually situated on
exposed parts of the body.
 Homicidal lacerations are usually on the head.
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