Medical Jurisprudence And Toxicology

214

MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE

"been partially withdrawn after it pierced the tissues, and thrust again in a
new direction.

Sometimes, it is argued that a punctured wound may have been caused
by a fall on a sharp pointed piece of an earthenware pot or broken glass. In
that case the edges of the wound are irregular and more or less bruised,
'and fragments of such articles may be found embedded in the soft tissues.

3. Lacerated Wounds.—These are produced by blows from blunt objects
$nd missiles, by violent falls on sharp and hard projecting surfaces, by
machinery and railway accidents, by the wheels of a vehicle, by the claws,
teeth or horns of animals and by projecting nails. These wounds do not
generally correspond in shape or size to the weapon producing them. Their
edges are torn, jagged, irregular and swollen or contused. The tissues are
torn and the sk'n beyond the seat of injury is ecchymosed and the under-
- lying bones are likely to be fractured, while the internal organs may be
^injured. Foreign bodies, such as earth, grease, machine oil, cinders, hair
fibres of clothing, etc. are frequently found in the wounds.

When produced by a
blunt weapon, such as a
' club (lathi), crowbar, stone,
brick, etc., a lacerated
wound is usually accompa-
ired by a considerable
amount of bimsing of the
surrounding ancTunderlymg
tissues, and has inverted
and irregular edges.

Haemorrhage in lacerated
wounds is, as a rule, not ex-
.tensive owing to the fact
that the arteries are not cut
evenly, but are torn across
irregularly so as to facilitate
clotting of the blood. In
lacerated wounds of the
scalp the temporal arteries
often stmrt as freely and
forcefullv as when cut
cleanly. These arter;es being
firmly bound are unable to
contract, and may, there-
fore, srjurt and continue to
bleed for a long time.

In a quarrel with her husband a woman sustained several injuries on her face
and head. One of these was a lacerated wound on the right temple. Bloodstains were
found on the ceiling at a distance of four feet from her bed. These were caused by the
spurting of the divided right anterior temporal artery. A young man had been struck
on the right temple causing a lacerated wound. Blood spurted to a distance of three
feet and a quarter from the place where he was standing at the time of the assault.4

Occasionally, wounds produced by a blunt weapon or by a fall may
look Hke_ incised wounds when inflicted on tense structures covering the
bones, such as the" scalp, eyebrow, etc.,"t>r by a fall on the knee or elbow
when the lirnb is flexed. But the edges of such wounds will be found
irregular with a certain amount of bruising, and small strands of tissue may
be seen at the bottom bridging across the margins, if examined with a hand

Fig. 88.—Lacerated wounds of forearm caused by

broken glass pane,
(From a photograph lent kindly by Dr. G. B, Sahay.)

4. Peterson, Haines and Webster, Leg. Med. and Toxic., Ed. II, Vol. I, p. 294.