Damage caused by blunt objects. Types of mechanical damage from the action of blunt solid objects. Scheme of abrasion healing

In forensic practice, injuries caused by blunt objects are more common than others, since these tools are widespread and easily accessible.

To stupid include objects that do not have sharp edges and sharp ends and, when damaged, have a certain mechanism of action. The variety of their properties, mechanisms of action, conditions in which they are formed creates difficulty in solving the issues raised during the forensic medical examination. The direction of the external impact, the features of the traumatic surface of the object, the magnitude of the kinetic energy and a number of other factors largely determine the morphological features of the damage. Blunt objects can be hard or soft. A direct violation of the anatomical structure of the tissue occurs, as a rule, only when exposed to solid objects, so we will only consider them. As already mentioned, the nature of damage largely depends on the properties of the object, therefore, in forensic medical examination, it will be important to establish the nature of the instrument of damage.

Classification of blunt solid objects

By size: 1) With a limited surface - the boundaries of the surface (all or some) do not extend beyond the surface of the damaged part of the body. With a limited surface, the shape and size of the damage are determined primarily by the shape and size of the traumatic surface.

2) With an unlimited surface - the traumatic surface exceeds the impact area. In this case, the shape and size of the damage will mainly be determined by the shape and size of the damaged part of the body.

This classification is relative, since the surface will be limited or unlimited depending on the shape and size of the damaged part, that is, the nature of the tool must be determined in each specific case.

By relief: 1) Smooth (smooth)

2) Uneven (unsmooth, rough)

By shape (only for objects with a limited surface): 1) Flat (triangular, square, rectangular, round, etc.)

2) Angular (2,3 and multifaceted)

3) Curve (spherical, cylindrical, others)

4) Combined (flat and curve, flat and angular, curve and angular).

By material: 1) Wooden

2)Metal

3) Mineral

By sustainability: 1) Non-marking

2) Leaving a trace-overlay in the area of ​​injury

3) Leaving a trace-layering on traumatic weapons

Allocate 4 main mechanisms of action of blunt objects(although in practice there is also their combined effect):

1. Punch- a complex short-term process of interaction between the body or part of the human body and a blunt object, in which the object exerts a pulsed one-sided centrifugal action on the body (The time of action may be less than 0.1 - 0.01 s.) from objects. The shorter the impact time, the more energy is transferred to the damaged part of the body, the more harm occurs when damaged. And only with an ultrashort impact time does the amount of damage become smaller, since the tool simply does not have time to act on the body.

Typical damage: abrasions, wounds, dislocations, fractures, concussions internal organs, body concussion.

2. Compression- the process of interaction of the body or part of the human body with two, usually massive, solid blunt objects, in which both of these objects, acting towards each other, have a bilateral centripetal effect on the body. Usually only one of the squeezing objects moves, while the other is stationary. The compression time usually exceeds the impact time. The severity of damage depends on the mass, area, contact time.

Typical damage: usually found during landslides, accidents. Signs are imprints of the surface of solid objects, relief, clothing, minor skin damage in case of severe damage to internal organs: ruptures, crushing, moving them into other cavities or out.

3. Stretch- the process of interaction of a body or body part with two solid objects that act in divergent directions, exerting a two-way centrifugal effect on the body. Time - 0.1 - 1 s. One object is always stationary, the other moves away from it.

Typical damage: superficial parallel tears of the skin, the formation of tears and patchwork wounds that do not have sedimentation and bruising along the edges, tears of body parts.

4. Friction- the process of surface interaction of the damaged surface of the body and the damaging surface of a blunt solid object, in which both contact surfaces are displaced in a tangential or tangential direction relative to one another. The severity of damage depends on the degree of pressure, duration of action.

Typical damage: abrasions with scratches (traces of dragging), abrasion of clothing, skin, bones.

In addition to the traumatic object, the feature of damage is affected by: a) the trace-receiving surface - can be flat, spherical, with underlying soft tissues, close to the bone, etc. b) an obstacle in the way of contact between the object and the skin - the material and thickness of the obstacle are important; c) static (stamp damage) or dynamic action

subject; slip marks are different; d) the strength of the impact.

Injuries from blunt hard objects very varied. All types of mechanical damage are formed from their action. Let's consider the main ones:

1. Abrasion- superficial damage to the skin that does not extend deeper than its papillary layer. The bottom of the abrasion, initially moist, shiny, is located below the level of the surrounding skin. After a few hours, it dries up and gradually begins to fill with a crust. Abrasions can be located on any part of the body. The number of abrasions is usually equal to the number of traumatic actions. The size of abrasions range from pinpoint to several 10 (rarely 100) cm. The area of ​​abrasions depends on the area of ​​the surface of the blunt object in contact with the body and on the length of the dynamic contact. The form of abrasions varies in variety and depends on the form of the traumatic instrument.

2. Bruise- hemorrhage impregnating subcutaneous fatty tissue. Initially, it has a blue or blue-purple color; from 3 days it acquires a greenish, and at 8 a yellowish color. Bruising is typical of the action of a blunt hard object and can have a wide variety of localization. Almost always, one bruise is formed from one blow with a blunt object. But with strong blows with elongated objects, two oblong bruises can occur, located on both sides of the receding surface of such an object.

3. Wound- damage that extends deeper than the papillary layer of the skin. . Wounds resulting from the action of blunt objects are divided into

1) Bruised wounds arise from a blow. Common signs: uneven, sedated, bruised, often besieged edges. In depth - whitish connecting bridges. Formed by objects with an unlimited traumatic surface.

2) Lacerations are formed from stretching. They have uneven edges.

3) Bruised and torn

4. Fracture - damage to bone or cartilage. Fractures are distinguished: a) from direct contact of a traumatic action - straight lines - at the point of contact, destruction, crushing and mutual layering of bone structures occur. As a result, small defects are observed at the place of application of the force due to the chipping of the bone substance. Elevated bone plates are visible along the edges of the defect. b) from mediated action - indirect. Their edges represent a finely serrated broken line.

1) Fractures of tubular bones can be formed from shear, flexion, compression, twisting and tearing. Shear fractures are always straight, transverse, or oblique. A bone chip is formed at the place where the force is applied. Thin cracks extend from the edges. When bending on a convex surface, tension occurs, and on a curved surface, compression occurs. A crack is formed on the convex surface, the ends of which are connected on the compression side, forming a large fragment. When the bone is compressed, impacted fractures are formed, characteristic of a fall from a great height. Twisting of the bone is its rotation around the longitudinal axis, with helical fractures occurring.

2) Fractures of flat bones depend on the shape and size of the traumatic surface and the variant of its action - impact or compression. From a blow to the place of application of force, unilateral fractures occur.

5. Damage to internal organs can say little about the mechanism of action of a blunt object. When an object with a small mass is exposed to the head, injuries occur at the place of application of force - bruised wounds, depressed or comminuted fractures, ruptures of the dura mater. With a head injury, all kinds of intracranial injuries and hemorrhages can occur; one of the most specific is focal contusion of the brain. Injury spinal cord occurs only in places of violation of the integrity of the spine in the form of compression fractures and dislocations of the vertebral bodies, ruptures of the ligamentous apparatus and joint capsules. Damage to the internal parenchymal organs is diverse: hemorrhages, ruptures of the outer shell, ligamentous apparatus, partial separation, complete destruction or separation of the organ. In case of damage to hollow internal organs, there are: ruptures of the organ wall, intrathecal hemorrhage, damage to the ligamentous apparatus, complete separation of the organ. Detachments of organs are observed during strong impacts with massive blunt objects, leading to a general concussion of the body; at the moment of injury, a sharp displacement of the organ occurs, leading to rupture of the fixing formations or complete separation.

With all the variety of traumatic factors and circumstances of injury in blunt trauma, the mechanisms of injury are limited to four: impact, compression, stretching and friction.

In general, the mechanism of damage formation is understood as the process contact interaction traumatic surface and damaged part of the body, leading to the occurrence of anatomical and functional damage of a certain type and nature.

Hit, those. a sharp strong push, when in a relatively short period of time there is a collision of an object and a human body relative to each other. In the place of their contact, various injuries occur, the nature of which depends on the force of the blow, its direction, the shape and size of the striking surface, the presence and characteristics of clothing or other pads, the anatomical structure of the damaged part of the body, and some other factors.

Typical impact injuries will be abrasions, bruises, contusions, direct bone fractures, ruptures of organs at the point of application of force.

bruised wounds arise from blows with blunt objects on parts of the body with a thin layer of soft tissues, under which the bones are located. Their shape depends on the shape and size of the striking object. In typical cases, the edges of the wounds are uneven, raw, bruised, crushed, sometimes exfoliated from the underlying tissues. In the depths of the wounds, jumpers of more durable tissues are visible. The hair follicles along the edges of the wound retain their structure.

fractures when struck with a blunt object, they are characterized by uneven jagged edges of damaged bones.

When struck with a sufficiently large force by an object with a wide striking surface, in addition to damage at the site of direct impact, there is also shake the whole body or parts of it, mainly internal organs. Mild concussion may not cause noticeable anatomical changes, but be limited to functional disorders. In this connection special meaning gets a concussion. If it is accompanied by local changes in the form of hemorrhages and areas of crushing of the medulla at the site of impact and counter-impact, then such changes are diagnosed as brain contusion.

At severe concussions internal organs, characteristic lesions are formed: multiple hemorrhages in the fixing apparatus of the organ and the surrounding tissue under the capsule and in the parenchyma of the organ. If the force of impact and shaking of the body is large, then, as a rule, there are multiple, located parallel to each other, lacerations of internal organs.

compression, unlike impact, it occurs when two centripetal forces act on the body from opposite sides. The speed of movement of squeezing objects, as a rule, is small, and the time of their interaction with the human body is much longer than with an impact. The severity and volume of damage is determined by the mass of the object and the area of ​​its contact with the damaged part of the body.

The most typical injuries during compression are: crushing, dismemberment, separation and displacement of organs, bilateral multiple direct and indirect bone fractures.

stretching, in essence, is a mechanism directly opposite to compression, i.e. forces act centrifugally and lead to characteristic injuries: separation of body parts, ruptures of ligaments, intervertebral discs, superficial linear tears of the skin from overstretching, bruised and lacerated wounds.

lacerations arise from stretching the skin with bone fragments and when struck with blunt objects at an acute angle. They are localized mainly in the area of ​​bone fractures or along the edges of detachments of body parts. When these wounds are localized in the area of ​​impact with a blunt object along the tangent, their initial part often has signs of bruising. In such cases, wounds are more correctly called bruised and torn(This group also includes bitten wounds).

The shape of the wounds is linear or L-shaped with uneven patchwork edges, in which there is no settling, crushing and bruising, which distinguishes these wounds from bruised ones.

Friction as a mechanism for the formation of injuries, it consists either in the contact of the traumatic object with the human body and movement in relation to it tangentially, or in the sliding of the body on some object. In this case, as a rule, superficial damage is formed: abrasions, wounds, detachments of the skin from the underlying tissues in the form of "pockets". In some cases, during prolonged dragging of the body (traffic injury), deeper damage appears in the form of “erasing” or “sawing” of the bones.

Quite often separate mechanisms of occurrence of damages are combined with each other that creates certain difficulties in production of examinations.

Let us consider some morphological features of injuries caused by blunt objects. First of all, the dimensions of the acting surface in relation to the damaged part of the body or, more precisely, the contact zone of the object and the human body, the shape of the surface and the mass of the object matter. The nature of damage is influenced by the presence of faces, edges and corners of blunt objects. The same object can inflict damage of different characteristics depending on which part of the object was hit.

Blunt objects with a large flat surface lead to abrasions, bruising, and, rarely, wounds. So, when hitting the head, wounds of a rectilinear, arcuate, zigzag and star-shaped form are formed, surrounded by extensive areas of sedimentation of an irregular round shape. The edges of these wounds are uneven, bruising and often crushed, and when struck at an angle, their detachment is possible.

In addition, blows to the head form vault cracks and grounds skulls, coinciding mainly with the direction of the traumatic force, as well as comminuted fractures with characteristic small fragments in the impact area and radially divergent fractures from bone cracking. Sometimes a large bone fragment surrounded by small ones is revealed at the site of impact.

A blunt object with a large spherical surface, when exposed, leaves wounds mainly star shape with settling around and crushing of the edges. Cracks form in the bones of the skull, depressed fractures rounded and comminuted fractures.

Elongated objects with a cylindrical surface form upon impact band-like bruising with precipitation. Sufficiently thick objects can be left on the body upon impact two parallel band-like bruises, i.e. bruises are more easily formed when the skin is stretched at the border of the cylindrical surface than when its vessels are squeezed by the convex part of the object.

Rectilinear and arcuate wounds with uneven crushed edges and sedimentation appear on the scalp, and depressed fractures of an elongated oval shape with cracks and free fragments in the center are formed in the bones of the skull.

The edge of a faceted object, on impact, causes a bruised wound, which may resemble a chopped and even cut one. Shape them linear, and when gaping - fusiform. The edges are relatively even without crushing and with weakly pronounced sedimentation. Detachment of the skin is possible when the object is applied at an angle. In the bones of the skull, the edge of a faceted object forms depressed and depressed-perforated fractures.

Obtuse objects with a small surface form wounds, the shape of which depends on which part of the object and at what angle the damage is applied. In this case, the wounds only partially reflect the shape of the edge due to the predominant action of the edge of the object from one side. Depressed and perforated fractures occur in the bones of the skull, the shape and size of which are determined by the striking face of the object.

The corners (protrusions) of a blunt object upon impact form star-shaped wounds with three rays of tears from the edges of the corner and by upsetting the edges with faces. Depressed fractures are formed in the bones of the skull, sometimes having a distinct shape of a trihedral pyramid, the top of which turned into the cranial cavity.

In addition, damage, similar in nature and mechanism to damage with blunt objects, can be inflicted by an unarmed person with parts of his body or animals.

Among the injuries inflicted by an unarmed person, in the first place are injuries by hands: fingers, nails, fist, palm. Next in frequency are injuries to the legs (foot) and teeth. Much less common are injuries from blows to the head, knee, shin and elbow.

Hand damage. Compression by the fingers of any part of the body leads to the formation of round or oval bruises: on the side of the thumb - one, on the side of the rest - several bruises, sometimes merging with each other. In the area of ​​bruising, crescentic abrasions from the nails may be visible. Pinch fingers leave behind paired bruises. Soft tissue ruptures are possible with fingers inserted into natural openings. Sliding movements with the nails form one or more parallel oblong abrasions.

Punching lead to the formation of bruises, sometimes - abrasions. Bruised wounds can occur in the area of ​​bony protrusions located directly under the skin. With blows to the mouth area, abrasions and bruised wounds from the teeth are formed on the mucous membrane of the lips. Strong punches can cause damage to bones (nasal, zygomatic, lower jaw, ribs, sternum), teeth, ruptures of internal organs and fractures of the cartilage of the larynx. Blows to the head sometimes result in a concussion.

In forensic practice, cases of death are known after punches in the reflexogenic areas of the body.

Flat palm strikes, as a rule, do not leave any objective signs. Much more dangerous are blows with the edge of the palm, especially in the neck area, which can lead to vertebral fractures and spinal cord injury.

Leg injuries are applied on the legs, in the lower abdomen and genital area when the victim is standing or sitting. The shape of the resulting extensive bruising, sometimes merging with each other, may reflect the shape of the part of the shoe that was struck.

Multiple fractures of bones (ribs, sternum), ruptures of internal organs and closed craniocerebral injury, causing significant health problems, up to death, can occur when a person is kicked and trampled.

Tooth damage (when bitten) can be found in both the perpetrators and the victim. The resulting abrasions, bruises or wounds are located in two arcuate lines facing each other with concave sides, and repeat the shape of the teeth. The result of strong compression by the jaws of small protruding parts of the body (finger, nose, auricle) can be biting them off completely.

Human damage can be large animals (teeth, hooves and horns).

Hoof strikes horse or bull can cause fractures of the ribs, sternum, ruptures of internal organs and severe traumatic brain injury, and blows with horns- extensive lacerated, bruised-lacerated and stab wounds with penetration into the body cavities. Biting teeth cause the formation of arcuate bruised-lacerated wounds, sometimes with tearing out significant fragments of the skin and small tissues.

Bites with teeth of animals such as dog, wolf, fox, cat characterized by the formation of lacerations with ruptures of muscles and, sometimes, internal organs (esophagus, trachea, etc.). The sharp claws of these animals inflict multiple lacerated skin wounds.

Falling from height. One of the types of blunt trauma, characterized by a special mechanism of damage, is a fall from a height. In this case, the human body moves (falls), and the damaging object (the surface on which the body falls) is motionless.

In practice, there are two types of fall: from a height and on a plane.

A fall from a height is most often the result of an accident, less often a suicide or murder. People fall from windows and roofs of buildings, rocks, trees, scaffolding, stairs, shafts, wells, etc. As you can see, circumstances can be very diverse. And yet, it is possible to find common, characteristic, signs for the whole set of fall options to establish the mechanism of injury.

Thus, the type of fall, the height of the fall, the mass of the human body, the features of the traumatic surface and the position of the body at the time of impact on the surface affect the nature of damage during a fall from a height.

The fall could be direct when a body falls directly onto a surface and remains on it, or indirect(stepped) with additional impacts on objects located at different heights. In addition, allocate falls free(independent) and not free(together with any object, including in a vehicle).

The most characteristic damage occurs in a direct free fall.

There are two phases of injury: primary impact and secondary. In this case, the mechanism of damage can be divided into 3 groups: direct, indirect primary and secondary.

• Primary direct damage occurs at the site of the primary interaction of the body and the surface of the object.
• Primary indirect damage occurs at the time of the primary impact, but at a distance from the impact site.
• Secondary damage are formed in other parts of the body from secondary impact.

The localization of damage depends on the landing options, and one of the common signs of a fall from a height is the predominance of internal damage over external ones. Outside, there are usually unilateral abrasions, bruises or bruised wounds at the points of contact between the body and the traumatic surface. Complicating the issue of the fall mechanism may be additional damage in a non-free or indirect fall. Inside - a variety of damage of various localization.

And yet, it is possible to distinguish the most typical internal injuries in various types of falls from a height.

Fall to your feet leads to the occurrence, most often symmetrical, direct fractures of the calcaneal bones; indirect fractures of the ankles and the bones of the lower leg, femoral necks and acetabulum of the pelvis; fractures of the ribs at the places of their attachment to the spine, compression fractures of the vertebrae, secondary fractures of the sternum from a blow with the chin; primary indirect ring-shaped fractures of the base of the skull. With inertial movement forward and a blow with the hands, paired fractures of the bones of the forearm occur.

When you fall to your knees primary direct fractures of the diaphysis of the bones of the lower leg and damage to other bones of the skeleton are formed, similar to cases of falling on the legs, except for the distal sections of the lower leg and feet.

Fall on the buttocks leads to the formation of primary fractures of the pelvic bones, compression fractures of the vertebrae and, less often, ring-shaped fractures of the base of the skull.

When falling on the head there are comminuted fractures of the bones of the skull, sometimes - driving the spine into the cranial cavity, compression and comminuted fractures of the spine, sternum and ribs.

With all variants of falling from a height, damage to internal organs often occurs as a result of their sudden movement and concussion. The most characteristic are the following injuries: ligaments, capsules and tissues of the liver, spleen, kidneys; tears, ruptures and hemorrhages of the pleura and roots of the lungs, aorta, large vessels of the base of the heart, mesentery of the intestine, peritoneum. When falling on the head, in addition, there is a severe craniocerebral injury with massive hemorrhages in the soft tissues of the head, bruised wounds, head deformity, and gross brain damage.

For falls on the body (i.e. flat) is characterized by a smaller amount of damage, tk. a large inertial stability of the human body is manifested in the anterior-posterior or lateral directions, in relation to the vertical. In addition, the impact force is distributed in these cases over a larger area. Such injuries may resemble a transport injury or injury from compression of the body with blunt objects, characterized by a predominance of massive hemorrhages in soft tissues, gross injuries of the chest and abdominal organs, multiple bone fractures, mainly from the impact side.

In a forensic medical assessment of the nature and localization of injuries in a fall from a height, the elasticity and shock-absorbing properties of the tissues of the part of the body on which the fall occurs, the resistance of the surface of the traumatic object to impact are taken into account. In addition, a thick layer of clothing can play a certain protective role in reducing the amount of damage.

Fall to the plane. The second type of fall is fall of a standing or falling person from a height of his own height, i.e. on the plane on which the person was.

Such a fall happens passive(spontaneous) or active(with giving the body additional acceleration).

With this injury, fractures of the bones of the upper and lower extremities, concussions and bruises of the brain, sometimes with fractures of the bones of the skull, and ruptures of internal organs (rarely) occur. External injuries at the site of impact are limited to abrasions, bruises, and with a hard impact surface, in addition, bruised wounds. Consider the most typical types of damage.

Fall on the back of the head the mechanism of which is most fully studied on biomannequins, leads to the formation of cracks in the occipital bone, leading to the foramen magnum or pyramids of the temporal bone. In a supine fall, the point of impact may be at the level of the occiput, above, or to the side of it, depending on the active or passive mechanism of the fall.

Brain contusions at the site of application of force are observed only in some cases, while multiple hemorrhages, foci of softening of the brain substance and subarachnoid hemorrhages in the area of ​​anti-impact (frontal and temporal regions of the brain) are detected.

Falls on the sides of the head the most typical damage is the occurrence of cracks in the temporal bone. The degree of severity of damage to the substance of the brain is also much greater in the area of ​​the counterblow compared to the site of the blow.

Fall on forehead is much less common and the nature of the damage is less typical, tk. they are localized mainly at the site of impact.

During the expert assessment of damage when falling on a plane It is necessary to take into account a number of related factors that affect the force of impact. These include: the presence of a previous acceleration (when the impact sometimes exceeds 2000 kg); height and body weight of a person; the presence, especially in women, of long thick hair, leading to a known depreciation and contributing to a decrease in the severity of the injury, the presence of a headgear (a hat with earflaps increased, in modeling, the impact time by 5–9 times compared to cases of falling without a headgear), shape head, in particular the shape of the occipital region.

Characteristic lesions are formed when crushed by massive objects. In cases where these objects have a large (disproportionate) plane, the integrity of the skin is rarely violated, and damage is limited to extensive abrasions and bruises with crushing of the underlying soft tissues. At the same time, they can reflect the features of the squeezing surfaces and clothing located on the damaged part of the body.

However, bone injuries are most typical for compression, especially in such bone formations as the skull, chest and pelvis. The nature of the resulting damage allows you to set the direction of the compressive forces. So on the bones of the skull, in places where compressive forces are applied, bilateral areas of small fragments of bones or two large fragments of a rounded shape are formed, surrounded by a ring of smaller ones. Between these areas, from the stretching of the bone tissue, connecting lines of fractures are formed, and from the bending of the bones, equatorial and parallel lines of fractures are formed.

With chest compression bilateral direct and indirect fractures of the ribs along many vertical lines are formed. For direct fractures an oblique direction is characteristic in relation to the length of the rib with a displacement of the fragments inward, while the pleura and lungs are injured.

Indirect fractures have a transverse direction, and the fragments are displaced to the outer side of the body (and therefore the parietal pleura is not damaged), the edges of the fragments are even or finely serrated.

Unlike hitting, with compression of the pelvic bones multiple symmetrical bilateral fractures occur.

The direct impact of traumatic objects on the internal organs causes their damage in the form of ruptures, detachments, displacements or complete destruction.

Death can result from mechanical asphyxia from compression of the chest and abdomen , even without pronounced anatomical damage.

In a forensic medical examination of injuries with blunt objects, the expert can qualify the severity of the bodily injury, supplement and clarify the circumstances of the incident, the testimony of the victim, the accused and witnesses.

Forensic medical characteristics and assessment of injuries with blunt solid objects: lecture // Selected lectures on forensic medicine (forensic traumatology) / Lev Moiseevich Bedrin. - Yaroslavl: Yaroslavl. state honey. Institute, 1989. - S.19-40.

Forensic medical characteristics and assessment of injuries with blunt solid objects: lecture / Bedrin L.M. — 1989.

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Most mechanical damage (up to approximately 80%) is caused by blunt objects, which are most common in everyday life and technology. The word "blunt" characterizes, first of all, the surface of the object, which at the time of the occurrence of damage is in contact with the body. Blunt objects can be hard, elastic and soft (pillow, rope, etc.). Mechanical damage is usually caused by blunt solid objects.

The blunt objects themselves are diverse in their mass, density, and features of the traumatic surface. The conditions under which these objects inflict damage are also different: kinetic energy at the moment of contact (impact) of a blunt object with the human body; place of contact (localization of damage); the angle through which a blunt solid object acts. The features of the damaged part of the body are also not the same. All this causes a wide variety of morphology and functional manifestations of injuries from blunt solid objects.

At the same time, all injuries from blunt solid objects have similar, typical group signs and features that make it possible to differentiate them from other mechanical injuries.

Important in the nature of damage from blunt solid objects are the features of their surface.

An idea of ​​the nature of the damaging surface of blunt solid objects is given by the classification developed by A.I. Mukhanov (Table 6).

Table 6

CLASSIFICATION OF DULL SOLID OBJECTS ACCORDING TO A.I. MUKHANOV (1969)

1. Dull hard objects with a flat predominant surface (board, stove, etc.).
2. Dull solid objects with a flat limited surface: rectangular, triangular, round (hammer, stone, etc.).
3. Dumb hard objects with a spherical surface (dumbbells, kettlebells, etc.).
4. Dull solid objects with a cylindrical surface (stick, pipe, etc.).
5. Dull solid objects with a surface ending in a trihedral angle.
6. Dull hard objects ending in a dihedral angle or rib.

The above classification does not take into account the relief of the damaging (trace-forming) surface of a blunt solid object. This is taken into account in the classification of A. A. Solokhin and A. I. Kuzmin, who propose to distinguish between smooth or embossed surfaces with different patterns.

Thus, the classifications provide for the characteristics of the DIMENSIONS of the traumatic surface, its SHAPE and RELIEF.

Mechanisms of injury from blunt solid objects

At the moment of contact of the traumatic surface of a blunt solid object, if it has sufficient mass and kinetic energy, with the human body, damage is formed. Several main mechanisms are involved in its formation: IMPACT, COMPRESSION, STRETCHING, FRICTION.

IMPACT is a sharp mechanical action when a blunt object moving at a certain speed comes into contact with one or another part of the body * or a human body moving at a certain speed comes into contact with the surface of a blunt solid object.

The moment of contact (contact) of a blunt solid object and a part of the body is currently called IMPACT.

As a result of a blow, injuries such as bruises, abrasions, bruises, bruised wounds, depressed fractures, concussion of the body or its parts occur.

We should dwell on concussion, which is a complex of functional and morphological changes that occur in tissues and organs when the body or part of it is sharply shaken as a result of a strong blow. The degree of these changes can be different and depends on the strength of the impact and the area of ​​the body that has been shaken. With not very strong blows, predominantly functional disorders occur, for example, concussion of the brain; with stronger impacts, concussions occur, characterized by both functional and pronounced morphological manifestations (for example, ruptures or even separations of internal organs, hemorrhages in their parenchyma and ligamentous apparatus, etc., may occur). When a blow causes a concussion, they talk about concussion-concussion syndrome.

COMPRESSION - (compression) the action of two or more blunt objects with a significant mass, directed at the body or part of it in converging directions. In practice, it often happens that one of the squeezing objects is in motion, while the other is stationary. Squeezing is characterized by extensive damage to internal organs and bones with intact or minor damage to the soft integument of the body.

STRETCHING (stretching) - a process opposite to squeezing, occurs as a result of the impact on the body of two or more blunt solid objects in divergent directions. One of these objects is often motionless, it fixes the body or part of it. When stretched with great force, tears or even separation of parts of the body are possible.

FRICTION is the contact (sliding) of a part of a blunt solid object or its entire surface with one or another surface of the body along a tangent, and the object or body, and sometimes both, are in motion.

As a result of friction, skin deposits are formed, detachment from the underlying tissues, the so-called "sawing" of the protruding sections of the bones in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe joints.

These mechanisms of action of blunt solid objects rarely occur in isolation. As a rule, we observe a combination of two or more mechanisms acting simultaneously or in very rapid succession, which leads to a variety of emerging damage and their features.

Predominantly anatomical injuries from blunt hard objects

abrasions

After we have dealt with the main general issues of forensic traumatology, we can move on to a detailed study of injuries from blunt solid objects. First of all, we will be interested mainly in anatomical injuries, which are the most common object of forensic medical examination in case of mechanical injuries.

abrasions represent a violation of the integrity of the epidermis (mucosal epithelium) or the epidermis and papillary layer of the skin.

If only the epidermis is damaged, then bleeding does not occur. Such abrasions are sometimes called superficial. If the damage also captures the papillary layer of the skin, in which the vessels are already located, then bleeding occurs (such abrasions are called deep).

Abrasions are caused by the impact of blunt solid objects, and the more relief the surface of such an object is, the more easily, ceteris paribus, an abrasion occurs. In some cases, abrasions can be caused by sharp objects, such as the edge of a knife, with slight pressure and sliding on skin. Such abrasions are linear form and are called scratches.

The mechanism of formation of abrasions consists of impact, compression and friction.

The form of abrasions can be varied: it depends on the shape and size of the surface of the traumatic object, the angle at which it acted in relation to the skin. So, if a blow prevailed in the mechanism of abrasion formation, the friction was small, but. the angle at which the blunt solid "object acted was close to a straight one, then the shape of the abrasion can more or less fully mirror the shape, size, and sometimes the features of the relief of the injury tool ^ If the main mechanism for the formation of the abrasion was friction, and the advancement of the surface blunt solid object with its pressure on the surface of the skin was at an acute angle, then the abrasion takes the form of a strip.

Under the influence of healing, the abrasion undergoes significant changes; it goes through several phases or stages, which are presented in table 6.

Table 6

SCHEME OF HEALING OF ABRASIONS

The bottom of a fresh abrasion is located at or slightly below the intact skin, it is moist and shiny. Then, after the bleeding stops, the abrasion begins to dry out and a crust forms, under which epithelialization subsequently begins, from the periphery to the center. When the crust falls off, pinkish-bluish pigmentation of the skin can be seen at the site of the former abrasion. Pigmentation disappears after a few days and "then it is no longer possible to establish the place where the abrasion was located. The healing time for abrasions may vary depending on their location.

In terms of severity, abrasions are always light injuries that did not cause a short-term health disorder or a slight permanent disability.

Abrasions are of great forensic significance and make it possible to resolve issues important for the investigation and the court:

1. The abrasion objectively confirms the fact of the mechanical impact of a blunt solid object.
2. The location of the abrasion indicates the point of contact of a blunt hard object with the skin (impact site).
3. The number of abrasions located in different areas indicates minimum quantity impacts with blunt solid objects (the number of impacts may be greater than the number of abrasions, since some of the blows could not leave marks).
4. In some cases, the shape of abrasions may indicate the shape, size, and sometimes even the features of the relief of the traumatic object.
5. By changes in abrasions in the process of their healing, the question of the prescription of the injury is decided.
6. Sometimes the features and location of abrasions may suggest the type of abuse (eg, crescentic abrasions on the neck may result from the action of fingernails when attempting to strangle).

Abrasions are often combined with other mechanical injuries - bruises, wounds, fractures, etc. In these cases, the assessment of damage in the complex allows you to solve important questions about the mechanism and conditions for the occurrence of injuries, the nature of the injury tool, the lifetime of injuries, etc.

Settling of the skin with blunt objects can also occur posthumously (for example, during inaccurate transportation of corpses). Such post-mortem skin deposits have long been called PARCHMENT SPOTS. After post-mortem sedimentation of the skin, the damaged areas dry up; become dense, have a yellowish, and then yellow-brown color. Unlike intravital abrasions, crusts do not form in the parchment stain area; on its section, either hemorrhage into the thickness of the skin is not detected at all, or it is slightly expressed. Histological examination of the skin with parchment stains does not reveal edema and infiltration, which are characteristic of intravital abrasions.

BRUISES

Bruises - hemorrhages in the skin and subcutaneous tissue and in deeper tissues from the impact of blunt solid objects. In some cases, bruising can be of non-traumatic origin - arising from diseases. These are the so-called pathological bruises.

The mechanisms of bruising are composed of IMPACT, COMPRESSION and STRETCH.

In size, bruises can be very small (petechiae), small and large, hematomas (accumulation of blood in limited cavities).

In depth, one can distinguish superficial bruises that capture the skin and subcutaneous tissue, and deep ones that also extend to muscles and other soft tissues. The size and depth of bruising is determined by the caliber and number of damaged vessels, the nature of the damaged tissues, the condition of the vessels, the age of the victim, the characteristics of the instrument of injury and the kinetic energy with which it acts.

The form of bruising depends on the shape, size and topography of the surface of the traumatic object. When struck with blunt, hard objects with a limited surface, bruising can mirror the shape and size of that object (for example, when struck with a belt buckle). When exposed to blunt solid objects with a predominant surface (board, etc.), bruises are more likely to have an oval or round shape, since the impact area approaches an oval or circle. When struck by objects with a cylindrical surface or close to them (for example, a stick), the bruises acquire a peculiar shape: two narrow linear hemorrhages separated by an area of ​​unaltered skin. This is because the vessels are more resistant to compression than to stretching; in a narrow band of impact, the vessels are compressed, and along the periphery they are stretched and torn.

In the area of ​​bruises, after their occurrence and in the process of healing, complex biochemical processes occur, in particular, changes in blood hemoglobin, which externally does not manifest itself in a change in skin color in the area of ​​the bruise (usually they say that the bruise "blooms"). Flowing from damaged vessels, blood accumulates under the skin and, shining through it, gives the bruise a bluish color (hence the “bruise”). When the bleeding stops, the breakdown of red blood cells begins. Under the influence of enzymes, hemoglobin is restored, which gives the bruise a purple color.

Sometimes the process of converting hemoglobin ends here and the color of the bruise does not change until it is completely resorbed. This can be observed in areas where there is no subcutaneous fat, or where there is very little of it (the red border of the lips, the skin of the scalp). This circumstance must be taken into account in order not to fall into error when determining the prescription of the occurrence of bruising.

Subsequently, hemoglobin breaks down into the protein globin and the coloring matter - hematin (heme). Further, hemoglobin is converted into verdohemochromogen, which gives the bruise a greenish color, and then into biliverdin and bilirubin, which has a yellow color and, accordingly, stains the bruise. In bruises 5-7 days old, you can simultaneously see yellow, green and bluish-purple (in the center) colors. The bruise gradually turns pale, compared with the color of the surrounding skin. A change in the color of the bruise allows you to roughly judge its prescription, taking into account the size and depth of the bruise.

Sometimes a bruise is formed not on the surface of the tissues, but in their depth, so it does not become visible immediately, but “appears” after 2-3 days. This should be borne in mind when examining the victims, when they insist that they were beaten yesterday or today, and the expert does not establish traces of injuries. In such cases, the witness is advised to come again, in 2-3 days.

As a rule, a bruise forms at the site of impact. However, in some cases, bruising may occur far from the impact site. So, for example, with fractures of the base of the skull, bruises may appear in the thickness of the eyelids, the so-called "glasses".

Bruises are often combined with other mechanical damage (especially with such types of injuries as transport, falling from a height, etc.) - abrasions, wounds; fractures.

According to the severity of bruising, as a rule, injuries are light, which did not cause short-term health problems or minor permanent disability. However, in some cases, bruising, if there are many, and if they are large enough in size and depth, can lead to significant blood loss and shock. In these cases they pose a real danger to life and as such would qualify as grievous bodily injury.

M. I. Raysky cited cases of death from bruises observed by him before the revolution of 1917. It was about horse thieves caught by peasants at the scene of a crime and subjected to beatings during lynching. There were continuous bruises under the skin, death occurred in the first hours after injury from acute blood loss and shock.

The forensic medical significance of bruising is about the same as abrasions:

1. The location of the bruises indicates, as a rule, the place of impact of a blunt solid object;
2. Bruising, if non-pathological, is evidence of impact from a blunt, hard object.
3. The shape of the bruise sometimes gives an indication of the shape and size of the instrument of injury.
4. The color of the bruise allows you to roughly judge the prescription of its occurrence.
5. The location and shape of the bruises may conceivably suggest the nature of the incident. So, for example, small rounded bruises, sometimes in combination with linear abrasions on the neck, may indicate the possibility of neck compression with hands; multiple bruises on the inner thighs of a woman can occur when trying to rape, etc.

WOUNDS

Damage (separation of the skin), which captures at least the entire thickness of the skin, is called a wound. Distinguish between simple or superficial wounds, capturing only the skin, and complex or deep, affecting and deeper tissues. Wounds that communicate with body cavities or joints are called penetrating wounds.

Wounds can occur from the impact of blunt solid objects, sharp objects, from firearms.

The mechanism of wound formation from the impact of blunt solid objects consists of IMPACT, COMPRESSION, STRETCHING, FRICTION.

Depending on which of these effects prevails, the following types of wounds from blunt solid objects are distinguished:

• - HURT - from impact and squeezing;
• - TORN - from impact and stretching;
• - HURT-TORN - from impact, squeezing and stretching;
• - CRUSHED - from a very strong blow and squeezing;
• - SCALPED - (patchwork) - from an impact at an angle to the surface of the body, followed by stretching.

In addition, BITED brines are also distinguished from the action of human or animal teeth.

Despite the wide variety of shapes, sizes, and depths of wounds from the action of blunt solid objects, all of them have their own specific features that allow them to be differentiated from wounds caused by sharp objects or from wounds from firearms.

The constituent elements of the wound are: edges, ends, walls (planes), bottom.

Although wounds from the impact of blunt solid objects can occur on almost any part of the body, however, ceteris paribus, they are more easily formed where the bone is located close under the skin, primarily on the head. By the way, it is the head that most often becomes the object violent influences.

The shape and size of the wounds depend on the nature of the traumatic surface of a blunt solid object and on the angle of its impact with one or another part of the body.

So, under the action of blunt solid objects with a limited surface, the size of the wounds is less than or equal to the area of ​​contact of a blunt solid object with the body surface; if the surface of the object has ribs, then the wounds will be linear (with one rib); L-shaped or U-shaped. A triangular-shaped impact surface can cause an angular wound.

If a blunt solid object with a predominant surface acted, then bruised wounds arise, in the center of which one can discern an area with the greatest crushing of the tissue, and linear tissue ruptures can radially extend from the center of the wound. The action of such blunt objects (for example, boards) is characterized by severe hemorrhage and sedimentation of the skin along the edges of the wounds over a considerable extent.

The dependence of the shape and nature of wounds on the angle of impact of a blunt solid object with the body surface is shown in Table 7.

Table 7

DEPENDENCE OF THE FORM AND CHARACTER OF WOUNDS ON THE ANGLE OF IMPACT OF THE SURFACE OF A BLUNT SOLID OBJECT WITH A BODY

Wounds from the action of blunt solid objects have common features:

• - EDGES of wounds are uneven, raw, bruising, often exfoliated from the underlying tissues;
• - ENDS of wounds uneven, rounded, L-, P-, T-shaped;
• - TISSUE in the depths of the wounds are crushed, bruising, often there are jumpers between the edges, in the bottom of the wound;
• - BLEEDING from wounds is small;
• - HEALING - by secondary intention (if there was no surgical treatment of wounds).

Lacerated and scalped wounds have much in common with the described signs of bruised and torn-bruised wounds, but in some cases their edges are either without sedimentation at all, or sedimentation is observed in small areas.

If the wound is caused by a blunt solid object with one rib (especially on the scalp), it can, when viewed with the naked eye, very much resemble a cut wound: its edges are even, the ends are pointed. When examining with a magnifying glass in the walls of the wound, twisted hair follicles, small uneven edges, narrow strips of skin sedimentation along the edges of the wounds become noticeable.

When struck by objects with a cylindrical surface, predominantly slit-like or semilunar wounds occur, and their length corresponds to the length of the axis of the traumatic object. The edges of the wounds are uneven, they become thinner towards the center of the wound, which gives the wound the appearance of a gutter, the edges are bruised, aggravated, and the aggravation is wider, the larger the diameter of a cylindrical blunt solid object.

Great forensic significance of wounds from the action of blunt solid objects. The presence of a wound confirms the fact of the impact of a blunt solid object. The nature of the wound makes it possible to judge the mechanism of action of a blunt solid object and its features, the angle and direction of its action, and the force with which it acted. The number of wounds indicates the minimum number of impacts with a blunt hard object.

BONE FRACTURES

Of all the mechanical damage caused by blunt solid objects, fractures are of the greatest forensic significance. This is determined, firstly, by the high frequency of their occurrence. Secondly, it is bone fractures that in many cases determine the severity of bodily injury, and, in combination with damage to the substance of the brain, internal organs, are the most common cause of death in mechanical injuries. And, finally, thirdly, bone fractures contain valuable information for solving important issues of interest to the investigation and the court (about the mechanism of occurrence, sequence, lifetime, the nature of the instrument of injury, etc.).

Most often, in about 70% of cases, fractures of the skull bones occur in forensic practice, followed by fractures of long tubular bones, ribs, pelvis, and spine.

V.N. Kryukov, who worked a lot and fruitfully in the field of forensic fractology, gives the following definition the concept of "fracture": this is a violation of the integrity (separation) of the bone substance within the anatomical part of the bone with the formation of two surfaces that did not exist before and allow their displacement relative to each other in two or three degrees of freedom. These are the so-called "complete" fractures. In addition to them, there are also “incomplete” fractures or cracks, which are a violation of the integrity of the bone substance, which does not allow displacement of the disconnected parts of the bone relative to each other. An example of such fractures can be cracks in only one outer or inner plate of a flat bone. In addition, there are also “fractures” - incomplete fractures with divergent edges, i.e., allowing displacement of the disconnected parts of the bones relative to each other in one degree of freedom. Cracks form in flat bones, fractures - in tubular ones.

According to the place of education they distinguish straight(or local) fractures that form at the site of application of the traumatic force and indirect (or remote) fractures that occur away from the site of application of the force.

In the direction of the main lines of fractures, one can distinguish longitudinal, transverse, diagonal (oblique), spiral, ring-shaped fractures and their combinations.

According to the nature of bone damage, there are: linear, comminuted, perforated, depressed, terrace-like fractures. There may also be a combination of them.

According to communication with the external environment, fractures are divided into open and closed. Clinicians consider open all those fractures in which there is a violation of the integrity of the soft covers at the site of bone damage, regardless of whether there is a message from the fracture site to the external environment. In contrast, many forensic doctors consider open only those fractures that communicate with the external environment through soft tissue damage.

The nature, features, severity of fractures depend on many factors, the main of which are:

1. The force of the impact of the traumatic object.
2. The direction of impact, the place of application of force, the angle of interaction (impact) of a blunt solid object with the surface of the body.
3. Structural features (general and individual) of soft tissues and bones at the site of impact; availability of clothing and footwear.
4. Properties of a blunt solid object and its traumatic surface.
5. The type of deformity that caused the fracture.

Deformation is a change in shape under the influence of mechanical force. The deformation can be elastic, when, after the termination of the external influence, part of the bone acquires its original shape and linear dimensions, and residual deformation, when the shape and linear dimensions are not restored after the termination of the force. Fractures of bones are characterized precisely by residual deformation, when the force of external influence exceeds the strength reserves of the bone and its destruction occurs.

There are five types of deformities that cause fractures, and from each of them, fractures acquire characteristic morphological features:

• 1) SHIFT;
• 2) BENDING;
• 3) COMPRESSION;
• 4) STRETCHING;
• 5) TWIST.

These types of deformation can be both isolated and observed in combination (for example, shear and bend, shear and compression, etc.).

SHIFT (cut) is a sharp short-term (within fractions of a second) impact of a blunt solid object with a limited surface at a right angle with significant force. So, for example, for a fracture of a long tubular bone from shear when hit by a part of a car, its speed should be about 60 km / h.

In case of a shear fracture, the processes of bone deformation, and then its destruction, are localized at the site of direct impact of the damaging object. Therefore, shear fractures are always straight (therefore, shear fractures do not occur at the base of the skull, since the base of the skull cannot be the point of application of force). Shear fractures are transverse or obliquely transverse in relation to the long axis of the bone. Shear fractures are especially common on long tubular bones, although fractures from other types of deformity are also formed on them.

In the second type of deformation - BENDING (sometimes called a fold), two forces act on the bone, directed towards each other at an angle. Moreover, if we are talking about a long tubular bone, then one or both ends of it can be fixed. The bone bends, its mechanical stresses change: on the convex surface there are areas of tension, and on the concave - compression. Since the bone is much less resistant to stretching, it is on the convex surface that a crack occurs, which then bifurcates towards the concave surface, forming a fragment. Flexural fractures can be either direct or indirect.

In compressive deformation, two forces act on the bone towards each other. In practice, it may be that one force acts on the bone, compressing it, while on the other hand the bone is fixed. Compression deformation for long tubular bones and the spine can be in both horizontal and vertical directions. When compressed in the vertical direction, impacted fractures are formed: on the outer surface of the bone along its entire circumference, areas of stress appear, the bone breaks in the transverse direction, and if the compression force continues to act, then longitudinal cracks extend from the line of this fracture, which are indirect fractures. An example is impacted fractures of the hips and spine when falling from a height onto straightened legs.

With horizontal compression, stretching areas appear on the lateral surfaces of the bone, the bone tube is deformed and local fractures are formed.

Compression deformation on the bones of the skull, pelvis, ribs occurs in the horizontal direction (and on the skull and in the lateral direction). Under the action of a significant force on the skull from front to back or in the lateral direction, when one of the surfaces of the skull is pressed against some blunt object, the skull is compressed, sharply flattened, and its circumference increases. In areas of greatest tension, located as if along the equator, multiple fractures occur. More about this will be discussed in the section on skull fractures.

In tensile deformation, two forces act on the tubular bone in divergent directions. Often, one end of the bone is fixed. The bone tube under the influence of stretching becomes thinner in the diaphysis, indirect fractures are formed. Such fractures can be observed, for example, in a railway injury that is not associated with a wheel rolling over a person’s body, when the lower limb is somehow fixed, and the upper part of the body is captured by a part of a moving train.

In torsion deformation, under the influence of two forces acting towards each other, when the bone rotates around its axis, with one end of the bone fixed, S-shaped, spiral indirect fractures are formed.

As already noted, in all five types of deformation, compression and tension are observed in different parts of the bone, which have their own morphological features. On the side of the bone that has undergone stretching, the fracture line is always single, finely serrated, straight, without chipping elements. Its direction is often transverse, less often - longitudinal, diagonal, spiral. From the ends of such a fracture, 2-3 additional lines of fractures begin, heading towards the compression zone on the opposite surface of the bone and forming an angle open in this direction.

On the side of compression of the bone, the fracture line can be single or double, it is uneven, zigzag, more often located obliquely or longitudinally, below or above whether: the fracture is on the side of extension, but never coincides with it. The edges of the fracture are large-toothed, uneven, split, gaping. On the side of compression, a free-lying bone fragment is formed. The edges of the fracture are crumbled, one of its edges is undermined, the other is beveled. Often, additional fractures form on the side of compression, the lines of which depart in a perpendicular direction to the main fracture line.

FRACTURES OF THE SKULL BONES

Fractures of the skull bones are of the greatest forensic significance, so we will analyze them in more detail.

Fractures of the skull bones occur either from the impact of blunt solid objects, or from squeezing, or from a combination of both. Accordingly, skull fractures are formed from shear, flexure, or combinations of the two, sometimes accompanied by compression.

From deformation, shear a due to a strong impact of a blunt solid object with a limited surface at an angle close to a right one, only straight perforated fractures are formed on the bones of the cranial vault, to a certain extent reflecting the shape and size of the impacting surface of the injury instrument.

When the direction of impact is not strictly perpendicular, but at a sharper angle, fractures arise from shear and bending and have the character of depressed or terraced. Such fractures arise from the impact of blunt objects with a limited surface. In this case, the side of the fracture, where the shift took place, indicates the place of the primary impact.

Fractures from bending deformation a are formed from the impact of blunt solid objects with a rectangular relatively wide surface, spherical or rounded. If we consider such fractures from the side of the outer plate, then we can see concentric cracks that limit the areas of depression in the form of a circle or oval; radial cracks inside this section of the fracture, extending from the center (the place of impact of the convex surface of the bone with a traumatic object) and not crossing concentric cracks, as well as meridional cracks extending away from the concentric and extending to the bones of the vault and base of the skull, if there was a strong impact a blunt solid object of a spherical shape (or close to it) with a large diameter.

From objects with a wide predominant surface with single blows to those sides of the skull that do not have a large curvature, multi-comminuted fractures occur.

The skull can be compressed both as a whole and in separate parts by blunt solid objects with a predominant surface in various directions: from front to back (back to front), from the sides, from top to bottom (bottom to top).

In this case, bone fractures are formed from bending deformation in combination with stretching deformation and, less often, compression deformation.

When the head is compressed, direct bone fractures are formed in the places where forces are applied and indirect ones - at a distance from them (on the vault and on the base of the skull).

Fractures of the bones of the skull with compression in the lateral direction.

In these cases, the diameter of the skull between the poles is shortened, and lengthened along the equator. At the points of compression (application of forces), the bone plates bend inward, stretching areas appear on the inner plates, and compression areas appear on the outer ones. In the areas of greatest tension - along the equator, cracks appear that go along the meridional directions, and from them, due to the bending of the bones, perpendicular cracks extend in the equatorial direction, which as a result forms multi-comminuted fractures. The same mechanism of fracture formation occurs when the skull is compressed in the anterior-posterior direction.

When the skull is compressed from top to bottom, in addition to the fractures described, which are typical for skull compression in general, there are also ring-shaped fractures around the foramen magnum, and the shape of such a fracture is closer to a circle, the more vertical was the position of the human head at the time of compression. When squeezed with a very significant force, cracks can depart from such an annular fracture, connecting with other fractures at the base of the skull.

Injuries to the bones of the skull are usually accompanied by damage to the membranes and substance of the brain, which are more pronounced, the more extensive the fractures and deformity of the skull, which is the cause of death in such cases.

We have outlined the typical features of the formation of skull fractures in general. It should be borne in mind that approximately the same effects on the same anatomical regions of the skull in different people can cause, the occurrence of fractures, different in severity and some morphological manifestations. It depends on many reasons: the strength characteristics of the various bones of the skull in general and in each person individually; the size and shape of the skull, in particular, on the ratio of the transverse-longitudinal diameter and the combination of height-latitudinal with height-longitudinal indicators; on the gender and age of the person, the degree of fusion of sutures, and others.

These characteristics and the features of skull fractures that depend on them were studied in detail by V.N. Kryukov (1986) and his students V.O. Plaksin, I.A. Gedygushev and others.

Fractures of the bones of the spine, ribs and pelvis are also of more important forensic significance, since they are often accompanied by injuries to the spinal cord and internal organs, causing danger to life and in some cases ending in death.

FRACTURES OF THE SPINE

Fractures of the vertebrae (body, arches, transverse and spinous processes), as well as damage to the intervertebral discs and ligamentous apparatus, arise from impact, compression, a combination of both.

From a direct impact, direct fractures occur, from all other types of impact, fractures are indirect, they form far from the place of application of force.

When hitting the spine from behind, fractures occur more often in the thoracic and lumbar regions, less often in the cervical region, since it is easily displaced, which reduces the force of impact. Fractures of the arches form, the vertebrae are displaced in the direction of impact. In these cases, shear deformation acts, sometimes a bend is attached to it. If there is a sharp shift of the vertebrae in relation to each other, then damage to the spinal cord may occur, leading either to an anatomical or physiological break.

With a sharp flexion and extension of the spine, indirect fractures from bending deformation may occur. More often they occur in the cervical region, less often in the thoracic region, and even more rarely in the lumbar region.

The mechanism of occurrence of fractures during flexion of the spine is presented in following form: with a sharp movement of the spine forward, the posterior, then the interspinous ligaments and ligaments between the vertebral arches are pulled and torn in the transverse direction, then the dura mater is torn from the posterior surface and, if the flexion and the resulting compression continue, then compression fractures of the vertebrae are formed. As if the "mirror" mechanism takes place with a sharp extension of the spine.

With sharp tilts of the head to the left or right, the mechanism for the occurrence of fractures is approximately the same, but fractures of the transverse processes join the existing fractures. To this it should be added that with sharp tilts of the head and neck to the left and right, along with sprain and rupture of the intervertebral ligaments, ruptures of the intervertebral arteries can also occur, and, as a result, fast development basal" subarachnoid hemorrhages leading to death (V. L. Popov, 1988).

With a sharp rotation of the spine, its cervical region is most often damaged. In this case, torsion and bending deformations act, unilateral ruptures of the ligaments are observed, and fractures rarely occur.

COMPRESSION of the spine can be observed in both horizontal and vertical directions. In the first case, as a result of deformations of compression and bending, to which torsion is sometimes attached, indirect fractures of all formations of the vertebrae are formed. With vertical compression, indirect compression fractures are formed.

In order to understand in detail the nature of vertebral fractures, and to solve questions about the mechanism of their formation and the type of impact, it is necessary to remove the entire damaged section of the spine when examining a corpse, place it for 2-3 days in a formalin solution and then examine it using one of the methods, proposed by A.A. Solokhin, V.A. Sveshnikov and Yu.I. Sosedko.

RIB FRACTURES

Rib fractures occur from impact, compression, or a combination of both.

From a blow with a blunt solid object with a limited surface, direct fractures occur, while the inner plate of the rib is stretched, bends inward, and the outer one is compressed. Therefore, an incomplete fracture is often formed - only one inner plate. With complete fractures, damage to the visceral pleura and lung tissue is sometimes observed from fragments of a broken rib (ribs). Signs of compression on the outer plate are uneven, coarsely serrated, often with chipped edges of the bone; fractures of the cortical layer with a raised free end, which in the form of a visor hang over the edge of the fracture. Sometimes, from the fracture line, which has a transverse or oblique direction with respect to the length of the rib, multiple cracks extend in the direction of the length of the rib. Direct fractures from impacts with blunt solid objects with a limited surface are based on shear and bending deformations.

When hit by blunt solid objects with a predominant surface, fractures are formed due to bending deformation both at the site of impact (direct fractures) and along the distance from it (indirect fractures). These fractures can be located along several lines, capture several ribs, have a transverse or oblique direction. On the side of compression, fractures are in the form of a single line; on the side of tension, a free bone fragment may form.

When squeezing the chest, due to the deformation of bending and compression, as well as their combination, in the anterior-posterior direction, indirect fractures are formed on two opposite surfaces of the chest along several anatomical lines. The direction of the fracture lines is transverse or oblique, and if torsion is added, then it is spiral. Comminuted fractures in the form of one line on the side of compression, and two - on the side of tension with the formation of free bone fragments.

When studying rib fractures on a corpse, it is recommended that the damage to the rib be first examined on the spot, then isolated, freed from soft tissues and examined in more detail (by the expert himself or in the physical and technical department of the Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination).

FRACTURES OF THE PELVIS

Pelvic fractures can result from impact, pressure, or a combination of both.

When struck with blunt solid objects with a limited surface, due to shear deformations, bending, or a combination of them, direct fractures are formed, which are either perforated (in the region of the iliac wing) or linear (in the pubic bone).

During impacts with blunt solid objects with a predominant surface, when bending deformation and sometimes torsion act, fractures can form both at the place of the force, and away from it. Fractures are linear or comminuted, spiral.

When squeezing the pelvis in the anterior-posterior and lateral directions from bending, compression, torsion deformations, both direct and indirect fractures, comminuted and multi-comminuted, compression, spiral, occur.

Particular attention should be paid to the features of pelvic fractures in children. In forensic practice, such fractures are quite common. Thus, according to L.E. Kuznetsov (1989), who studied in detail the biomechanics and morphology of pelvic fractures in children, they occur in 29.4% of all fatal injuries in children. The pelvis of a child (aged 1-13 years) has a number of significant anatomical and biomechanical features, as a result of which damage to the pelvic bones in children differs from those in adults both in localization and in the nature of bone tissue destruction. In particular, they can occur without disturbing the anatomical continuity of the pelvic ring. This requires the release of the pelvic bones from the periosteum when examining injuries on a corpse. In case of fractures of the pelvic ring with a violation of its anatomical continuity, destruction, as a rule, occurs at the border of bone and cartilage tissue.

Similar features of pelvic fractures in adolescents were established by Yu.A. Solokhina (1985).

Summing up everything that has been said about bone injuries by blunt solid objects, we can make a general conclusion that knowledge of the mechanisms of occurrence and morphology of a fracture makes it possible to solve issues important for the investigation and trial.

7.1. General provisions

Blunt objects are very diverse in size, shape, nature of the material and are most widely used in everyday life and at work. Therefore, injuries with blunt objects are most often encountered in forensic practice. The main difference between blunt objects is that they do not have sharp edges or ends.

The mechanism of injury is usually twofold: either the damage is caused by a moving object to a person at rest or relatively little movement, or the moving body of a person hits a stationary object (for example, when falling).

The extent and features of damage by blunt objects depend on the mass and density of the damaging object, the speed of movement, the shape of the striking surface of the blunt object, the anatomical structure of the damaged area of ​​the body, etc. Large heavy moving objects (for example, a truck, an electric train, part of a building during its collapse) usually cause very extensive damage, up to crushing and dismemberment. Other less heavy and small items can be picked up in the hand that propels them, inflicting damage accordingly. The latter are often inflicted by an unarmed person (for example, punching, kicking, heading, pinching with fingers, biting with teeth, etc.).

Depending on the nature of blunt tools and methods of application, these damages can be divided into the following groups:

1. Damage caused by an unarmed person (fingers, fist, palm, leg, teeth, etc.).

2. Damage by objects that were in the hands of a person (hand-held blunt tools).

3. Damage caused in a work environment.

4. Damage by means of transport (road, rail, aviation, water transport injuries).

5. Fall damage.

6. Damage during sports.

7.2. Damage caused by an unarmed person

An unarmed person can inflict damage with fingers, palms, fists, feet, teeth, which will be of a different nature. So, when squeezing the fingers on the body, either bruises with a peculiar arrangement are usually formed (a single rounded bruise on one side of the shoulder and several similar ones on the opposite side), or abrasions, more often in the form of crescents (when the neck is squeezed).

Can be distinguished abrasions from attacks and abrasions in self-defense. The first are formed in a person when someone attacks him and seeks to inflict damage on him. Such abrasions are diagnosed in the circumference of the mouth and nose, on the lips and buccal mucosa when trying to strangle by closing the breathing holes; abrasions on the neck when trying to squeeze it with your hands, often combined with bruising; abrasions in the female genital area and on the mucous membrane of the vestibule of the vagina. Secondly, these are abrasions inflicted on the attacker by his victim in self-defense (protective), localized mainly on the face or hands of the attacker and may be important when examining persons suspected of an attack, or when examining a corpse to clarify the picture of the incident.

More extensive finger injuries rarely stated. They require the tension of the muscles of the whole hand, and the fingers, grabbing, not only compress, but also stretch parts of the body. In this case, dislocations of small joints can occur, rarely fractures of small bones; in newborns, strong hand pressure can cause a skull fracture with crushing of the brain.

Pulling out the hair of the head or beard occurs quite often both during an attack during a fight and in self-defense. The hair, pinched in the hand of the murdered, is of great importance in the investigation of crimes. However, one should not think that a lot of hair can be torn out with one hand, as the victims often claim.

Nail damage quite typical. They look like abrasions of a semicircular or linear shape. Particles of torn epidermis can be found under the nails of the attacker.

With the naked hand, fist causing various damage. Usually they do not break the integrity of the skin, but wounds can also be caused. From punches, there are skin deposits, especially in places located on the bones, bone protrusions with a thin layer of subcutaneous fat of soft tissues: in the forehead, nose, cheekbones, chin, on the back of the hands, etc.

From a punch, the most common damage is bruising, subcutaneous hematomas of various sizes and shapes, limited and widespread. Especially easily at the same time there are hematomas of the eyelids. They are observed in the form of so-called points when hit in the region of the back of the nose, bridge of the nose. Upon admission of the victim to the hospital, such hematomas of the eyelids of both eyes make one suspect a fracture of the bones of the base of the skull. However, they are very often observed in outpatient forensic practice and without fractures of the bones of the base of the skull and damage to the bones of the nose. If a bone fracture is suspected, an x-ray should be taken.

When punched, another common location for bruising is the lips. At the same time, on the mucous membrane of both lips, its sedimentation, ruptures penetrating to different depths are observed. Damage to the inner surface of both lips simultaneously or separately is explained by their “kneading” on a “hard lining”, on the teeth or jaws. When the lips are damaged, the teeth are often damaged at the same time. The latter are either knocked out of the holes or broken in the area of ​​the necks. Sometimes, pieces of the tooth are also chipped off.

From a blow with a fist, fractures of the bones of the nose, lower jaw, upper jaw, and zygomatic processes are possible. With damage to the temporal region, fractures of the temporal bones occasionally occur with epidural and subdural hematomas and even brain injury. Observed from punches and direct fractures of the ribs at the site of impact, rarely fractures of the sternum.

From a punch, soft tissue wounds are possible in the form of limited ruptures with bruised, crushed edges in places of bone protrusions, along the supraorbital edge of the frontal bone, in the region of the zygomatic processes, and glabella. With fractures of the nasal bones, sometimes wounds are caused a second time, by bone fragments. The force of a punch depends on the size of the hand and physical development the attacker, and the nature of the damage depends on the place of application and the magnitude of the traumatic force. Significant damage occurs when hitting with a fist, in which an object is inserted for weighting - a “bookmark” (for example, a weight, a stone, a piece of metal, etc.).

As you can see, a variety of and sometimes serious injuries can be caused by a fist.

From blows with an open palm or flat on the auricle, there are ruptures of the eardrum.

hand grip, finger grip may leave bruising in the form of bands of a rounded shape, especially in individuals with increased vascular fragility. The form of bruising allows you to determine in such cases the mechanism of their occurrence.

Injuries caused by the foot are much less common than the fist. If the blows are applied with a foot shod in some kind of footwear, injuries remain on the body, sometimes allowing an answer to the question about the injuring object. The extent of injuries that occur when trampling a lying person is in some cases so great that one has to think about another type of injury. Blows with a shod leg can cause, in addition to abrasions and bruises, fractures of bones and larger ones than from punches: the bones of the upper limb, foot, fibula, especially the condyles. At the same time, closed ruptures of internal organs are also quite frequent: the liver, spleen, stomach, and intestines.

Compression of the chest with the knee can cause fracture of the sternum, indirect and direct fractures of the ribs.

Damage left by teeth are a material reflection of dental status. These footprints can be used to identify the person who left them. Tooth marks are divided into bites, bites, bites and traces-imprints.

When bitten, these features in the sliding area are displayed in the form of abrasions, scratches, superficial wounds.

When a bite occurs, an incomplete separation of a part of the body by the teeth occurs at the edges of the bites and the adjacent skin, the same features of the dental status can be displayed; in addition, when biting, rather large irregularities of the outer and inner surfaces of the teeth are sometimes displayed, and volumetric traces from the parts of the crowns that have sunk into the body can even be detected.

When biting off, lacerations remain with elements of tissue rupture from stretching; the features of the teeth are revealed worse and with distortions, but the same signs can be displayed in the edges of the wound as in the bites; these wounds are often complicated by some kind of infection.

The trace-imprint is a superficial variant of the overbite, it displays signs of the width of the crowns, interdental spaces, curvature of the dentition, incorrect setting of individual teeth; as a rule, these signs are weakly expressed and require especially careful study and fixation. To conduct a full-fledged medical forensic identification examination, careful and detailed fixation of teeth marks on a corpse is necessary. Comparative material is experimental traces of teeth. They can be obtained directly from the suspect, or more conveniently and accurately, from high-quality models of his jaws. with giving the existing bite. These manipulations require the technical assistance of a dentist (naturally, with appropriate legal registration). Damage caused by teeth is produced both in attack and in defense. The first are located on the face, neck, shoulders, chest. Protective lesions most often occur on the fingers and other parts of the hand, on the forearms, but can also be on the face and neck.

Thus, the nature, extent, form and localization of injuries that occur when they are applied by an unarmed person are different and depend on the physical development of the attacker. Sometimes such injuries end with the death of the victim at the scene. In this regard, blows to the neck with the edge of the palm are very dangerous because of the possibility of shock or rupture of an aneurysm of the carotid arteries.

7.3. Injuries from blunt objects with a flat surface in the hands

human

Objects with a flat striking surface are: boards, bricks, hammers, etc. The effect of such objects can be widespread, limited and mixed; it depends both on the size of the striking surface and on the part of the body where the blow is applied.

With widespread action the striking surface (for example, boards) is larger than the body area being struck. In such cases, round or oval bruises with unsharply pronounced edges are formed, abrasions are observed when sliding, and fractures can occur if the object is heavy (in particular, fractures of the skull bones from compression). The widespread effect of a flat object is manifested on rounded parts of the body: on the head, in the area of ​​​​the shoulder joint, knee, etc.

With limited action the striking surface is less than the damaged surface of the body. When struck with such objects (for example, with a hammer), bruises are formed, often with precipitation along the edges. With a large impact force, bruised, lacerated and bruised-lacerated wounds of the skin, crushed muscles and even perforated fractures of the bones of the cranial vault are possible. The shape and size of these injuries sometimes correspond to the striking surface of the damaging object, which can be used to determine the type of weapon, and in some cases, its individual characteristics. Bruised wounds are characterized by uneven, raw, bruising edges and connective tissue bridges in depth.

With mixed action the object is in contact with the body, on the one hand, with its edge, and on the other hand, the striking surface of the object goes beyond the damaged surface. In such cases, according to the edge of the striking object, damages are formed similar to the latter, as with a limited action, but with an incomplete imprint of the object. On the bones of the cranial vault, with a similar action of injuring objects, terrace-like fractures often occur.

Under the action of large objects with a flat surface (thick boards, etc.), when they are physically in the hands strong man, significant damage can occur up to multi-comminuted fractures of the bones of the cranial vault. Such injuries are often similar to other types of traumatism, and in some cases the issue of a wounding object can only be resolved by the method of exclusion. One of the differential signs in this case is the absence of data indicating a general concussion of the body.

7.4. Injuries by blunt objects with a rounded surface, held in the hands of a person

Items with a rounded surface are round sticks (metal, wood, plastic, etc.), crowbars, weights, bottles, etc. The strongest effect of such objects is manifested on the protruding surface of the body, in the head, shoulder joints, lateral surfaces of the chest, etc. The type of damage that occurs in this case depends on the shape of the rounded object (cylindrical or spherical), its dimensions and the force of impact.

Objects with a rounded surface(especially cylindrical) during their action cause maximum compression of the tissues at the point of contact. As a result of this, blood is squeezed out, respectively, to the convex parts of the injuring object. Therefore, when hit with sticks, a dense rope, etc. often there are bruises of a linear form in the form of two bands with a break in the middle.

Cylindrical surface of objects(stick, crowbar, bottle, etc.) can give long, sometimes linear wounds with bruising and raw edges when struck. Wounds of this kind are often combined with fractures of the underlying bones (skull, ribs, sternum), which are also observed while maintaining the integrity of the skin. These closed or open fractures of the underlying bones can sometimes correspond in shape and size to the shape and size of the striking surface of the tool.

When hit by cylindrical objects with considerable force in places where the bones are closely located (for example, on the head), bruised wounds are often formed that have uneven, raw, bleeding edges. The main feature of such wounds is the presence of connective tissue bridges at their ends. The shape of bruised wounds largely depends on the features of the rounded surface of the injuring object.

Objects with a spherical striking surface: balls, weights, spoons, etc., when applied with little force, lead to the formation of bruises, often rounded. If the blow is applied with great force, star-shaped or irregularly shaped wounds appear on the skin with a rounded or oval zone of sedimentation. The edges of such wounds are hemorrhagic. On the bones of the cranial vault in such cases, depressed fractures are formed.

7.5. Damage to "hand" objects with an angular edge

Depending on the number of planes that form an angular edge, there are objects with a dihedral (for example, the edges of boards, bricks, etc.), with a trihedral, tetrahedral and polyhedral angle (the corner of a brick, an ax butt, a hammer, etc.). The angular edges of objects represent a transition from a typically blunt (flat or rounded) surface to sharp edges and ends that characterize sharp tools, and the sharper the angle, the easier the wound is formed and the more this action approaches a chopping one.

The shape and size of the damage depend on the features of the angular edge. When struck by objects with a two-sided straight edge(board, etc.) longitudinal bruises or wounds are formed. Objects with a dihedral, arcuate edge like the bottom of a bottle will give bruises or wounds in an arcuate shape.

The degree of severity of bruising in the circumference of the wound depends on the angle between the planes of the object, and the smaller the angle, the weaker the hemorrhage along the edges of the wound. As the angle of the damaging object sharpens, the edges of the wound become more even.

When hit by objects with polyhedral (pyramidal) angles characteristic star-shaped wounds are formed, and the number of rays of the wound often corresponds to the number of edges (ribs) converging at an angle. So, an object with a trihedral angle (for example, the corner of a brick, board) gives a three-beam abrasion or wound, each ray of which is formed by the edge of the corner of the object. These rays, abrasions or wounds can be of various lengths depending on the direction of impact.

Trihedral, polyhedral and conical angles of blunt objects according to the mechanism of action, they are transitional to piercing tools. At the same time, the sharper the angle, the weaker the bruising and sedimentation along the edges of the formed wound. With a significant impact force and sufficient gravity, a tool with a polyhedral angle produces characteristic depressed or perforated fractures of flat bones.

7.6. Combined blunt injuriesobjects in human hands

When exposed to objects with an uneven impact surface very diverse injuries occur, depending on which part of the object was in contact with the body. In such cases, a detailed study can find individual elements of damage characteristic of flat, rounded and angular objects, since individual parts of uneven objects can have a flat, rounded and angular surface.

It should be borne in mind that the same object can cause a variety of injuries, since blows are applied on a different surface of the object and at different angles with respect to the surface of the body. For example, a piece of brick may act as a flat, angular, or uneven surface, depending on which part of it caused the damage. This circumstance must be taken into account when examining multiple injuries.

Damage caused by blunt objects made of glass(for example, a bottle), damage of a different nature may occur. If the object is not destroyed, then the damage will be similar to that received from the impact of a blunt object with a rounded surface. If an object breaks upon impact, then its parts having sharp ends and edges cause damage, as from sharp objects.

If during the forensic medical examination of a corpse the question arises about the possibility of damage to a glass object, it is necessary to subject additional research wound channel. To do this, the soft tissues of the wound channel are placed in a vessel and destroyed with a mixture of concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids. Glass fragments are preserved and can be detected by microscopic examination of the residue.

Proceeding from the described features of damage by hand-held blunt tools (flat, rounded, angular and with an uneven surface), it follows that it is extremely difficult to establish the type and, moreover, a specific instance of a tool based on the damage properties. Identification can contribute to the detection in the wound of a fragment of the tool or object with which the wound was inflicted.

7.7. The main issues to be resolved by forensic medical examination in case of damage from the impact of blunt instruments (objects)

If damage is suspected from the impact of blunt instruments (objects), the following questions can be asked to the forensic expert:

1. What injuries were found on the victim (living person, corpse) and how could they be caused?

2. What is the amount of damage? What is the mechanism of formation of these lesions?

3. Do the detected damage have signs that allow you to establish the size, shape, structure and other features of the damaging object, as well as identify it?

4. Are the injuries caused by parts of the human body (head, legs, fists, teeth)?

5. If several injuries are found on the victim, what is the sequence of their infliction? Are they applied by one or different objects?

6. How old is each injury?

7. What is the sequence of causing damage?

8. Could the damage have been caused by the objects presented to the expert?

9. Which of the items submitted for examination could have been damaged?

10. In what position was the victim at the time of injury?

11. What was the mutual position of the victim and the attacker at the time of the injury?

12. Are there injuries on the victim's body that are characteristic of wrestling and self-defense?

13. Has the injury been caused by your own or someone else's hand?

14. Was alcohol (drugs) taken shortly before death?

15. Are there traces of blood, hair, overlays of cells of organs and tissues, as well as clothing fibers on the object?

16. If there is blood on the object, then what is its species, group and gender?

17. If there are overlays of cells on the object, then what is their organ, tissue, group and gender affiliation?

18. In cases of examination of corpses, is this injury the cause of death?

20. Were the injuries caused during life or post-mortem?

Blunt objects, tools, weapons can cause a variety of injuries - from superficial to deep and extensive. Their nature depends on the object and the force with which it acts on the tissue. Therefore, when examining the victims, the most detailed study of damage is required with a simple eye, under a microscope, with ultraviolet rays. The latter allows sometimes to reveal imperceptible changes, subcutaneous hemorrhages, characteristic pollution and other features. Comparison of a suspected or known tool with damage allows you to confirm or exclude a certain item. Photographing the damage and comparing it with the weapon of attack can be of great help in this. Damage must be described and measured. Its special details are also measured and photographed. Such fixation of the damage and the circumstances of the incident with the obligatory successive photographing can sometimes help to establish the posture and relative position of the participants in the conflict.

7.8. Sports injury

A sports injury is a consequence of non-compliance with safety precautions by athletes and insurance rules when performing complex exercises. The nature of the resulting damage depends on the sport. This circumstance requires the forensic expert to familiarize himself with the rules for conducting training or competitions and to participate in the inspection of the scene of the incident (especially the apparatus on which the victim performed).

Injuries that occur during sports activities usually become the subject of an investigation when they indicate any violations of the rules for organizing and conducting sports activities. As experience shows, certain injuries correspond to each sport. This should be taken into account during the examination and, if necessary, the required specialists (sports doctors, coaches, instructors, etc.) should be involved in it.

The most common form of injury during sports is dislocations, since athletes very often have to make sudden movements when any part of the body is fixed (for example, the foot when jumping, throwing a hammer, discus, etc.). When falling during classes on the crossbar, often there are fractures of the cervical or thoracic spine. When jumping into the water, not only fractures of the spine are possible, but also skull fractures.

In case of excessive overexertion during competitions or immoderate training requiring a lot of physical activity, death can occur from acute heart failure. In such cases, questions arise about whether the athlete could practice this sport, as well as about the correctness of medical control. In this case, it is important to identify any pathology of the internal organs.

In a forensic medical examination of sports injuries, it is important to carefully study the rules and features of a particular sport, find out what the real actions of the victim were at the time of the injury, whether he followed the sports rules, whether medical supervision for the state of health of the athlete during training and competition.

During the practice of special sports (in aviation clubs, motorcycle clubs, etc.), injuries occur that are similar to the corresponding transport injuries. Therefore, an examination by an expert of vehicles with the participation of specialists in this sport is necessary here.

7.9. Workplace damage

This group of injuries, as a rule, differs from the previous ones in greater massiveness and severity, since the acting force in such cases usually significantly exceeds the strength of a person. The nature of damage by parts of machines is very diverse, which depends on the design features of the machines and the mechanism of injury. Most often, there are blows by any parts of machines, flying parts, getting into rotating mechanisms, impact of in-house vehicles, falling from a height and on a plane, etc. The damage observed in this case is in principle similar to the damage caused by blunt hand tools, but they are much more extensive and severe.

The main task of the forensic medical examination of industrial injuries is to establish the technical (material) cause of the injury based on the nature and characteristics of the injuries. Determining the cause of the injury, and especially the method of causing damage, in such cases often presents great difficulties for the expert due to the lack of reliable preliminary information and ignorance of the nature of the technological processes.

Significant difficulties in investigating accidents in some industries force the investigating authorities to put a number of difficult questions about the mechanism of injury, the time of death, the instrument that caused the injury, the posture in which the victim was at the time of injury, etc. Particularly more difficulties arise before the investigating authorities and the examination in cases of combined industrial injuries, when the question of mixed liability arises.

For the correct forensic medical diagnosis of cases of industrial injuries, it is of great importance to examine the scene of the incident with the participation of a forensic medical expert, which, unfortunately, is extremely rare in practice at present.

In agricultural production, damage caused by animals is sometimes observed. So, when hit by a horse's hooves, ruptures of internal organs, fractures of the ribs, fractures of the skull with damage to the substance of the brain occur. Blows with the horns of a bull or a cow are often accompanied by deep lacerations, sometimes penetrating into the cavity of the chest and abdomen. Damage from the teeth of large animals is usually extensive, depending on the structure of the jaws, the strength and sharpness of their teeth.

7.10. Injury resulting from a fall from a height

The nature and severity of fall injuries depend on many factors; and above all from the height of the fall, the characteristics of the soil and objects on which the fall occurred, and the posture of the victim. At the same time, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe body that it hit at the time of the fall, the presence or absence of protruding objects that the victim’s body could hit during the fall, and, of course, the state of health and individual characteristics of the victim, matter. The height of the fall varies widely: from the height of a person (falling onto a plane) to several tens or hundreds of meters (falling from a greater height).

At direct fall the main damage to the human body occurs from a single impact on the surface. At indirect fall the body encounters during its movement any protruding objects with a limited traumatic surface (balconies, cornices, satellite dishes, etc.).

During the collapse of any building structures, various objects fall along with the human body. (non-free fall), which can cause damage to it both during movement and after the body has fallen to the surface.

Of great importance is the nature of the surface on which the victim fell. The harder the place of "landing", the more extensive the damage. The latter led to death even in cases of falling on the stairs, on asphalt from the height of one's own height or from a height of up to one meter. Regardless of the conditions, falls from a height of more than 20-25 m almost always end in death, and a fall on the back can be accompanied by much less damage than when falling on the legs. This is due to the greatest resistance of the organism to the influence of transverse overloads.

During the investigation, it is of great importance to study the place from which the fall could have occurred, in particular, the possibility of an independent fall or jumping out of a window, from a roof, etc.

Example.

On January 17, 1998, an examination of the corpse of citizen M., aged 66, who died as a result of a fall from the 13th floor of a residential building along Ryazansky Prospekt, was carried out. Citizen M. during her lifetime after suffering two cerebral hemorrhages moved independently around the apartment, but with great difficulty. The lower edge of the window where the fall occurred was 1.2 m from the floor, the window sill was 57 cm wide. The deceased was short, obese, with severely limited mobility.

The state of health of the deceased during her lifetime, as well as her extremely poor relationship with her relatives, made it possible to suspect a situation in which she was thrown out of a window with the intent to kill. A thorough inspection of the scene and, in particular, the presence of an ottoman at the window, the discovery of a corpse directly against the wall of a 16-storey building, the posture of the corpse and other features gave reason to talk about the possibility of the victim falling on her own with the intent of suicide. This was confirmed by a suicide note found in the apartment some time later.

One of the common signs of a fall from a height is the predominance of internal injuries arising from the concussion of the body over the external ones, formed at the moment of impact on the surface. External injuries are in the nature of abrasions and bruises (bruised wounds are very rare). They often display the relief of the surface on which the fall occurred. During internal examination, as a rule, multiple fractures of the bones of the skeleton, as well as tears and ruptures of internal organs (roots of the lungs, large vessels at the base of the heart, ligaments and liver capsule, etc.) are noted.

By the nature and localization of skeletal fractures, in some cases it is possible to recreate the picture of the incident, including determining on which part of the body the fall occurred. So, when falling on the legs, impacted fractures of the bones of the lower leg and thighs, as well as circular fractures of the bones of the base of the skull, are possible. In cases of falling on the head, fractures of the skull bones and compression fractures of the vertebral bodies of the cervical spine are formed. Therefore, when examining such a corpse, it is necessary to open the spinal canal, the muscles of the back and limbs, including the feet (when falling on the legs, hemorrhages in the muscles of the soles of the feet will be detected).

When falling on a plane (from the height of one's own height), fractures of the skull bones in the occipital or temporal region often occur, accompanied by intracranial hemorrhages and compression of the brain. Signs of concussion of the body (tears of the roots of the lungs, ligaments of the liver, etc.) are usually absent.

Example.

Citizen A., aged 31, on January 19, 1998, while working, slipped and hit his head on a hard blunt object. 3 hours later, he felt dizzy and died 6 hours later.

Forensic medical diagnosis: massive subarachnoid hemorrhage. Small foci of hemorrhages in the right half of the substance of the brain with softening of the latter. Superficial abrasion of the skin in the right occipital-parietal region. Hemorrhages in the subcutaneous tissue under the abrasion.

As you know, special difficulties arise when it is necessary to establish whether the injuries were received from a blow with a blunt object or from a fall. If the damage does not have any features that characterize the object that caused the damage, then differential diagnosis very difficult. In such cases, it is necessary to pay attention to the localization of damage, the possibility or impossibility of such localization, the occurrence of damage from a blow to a blunt object. When falling, damage typical of this mechanism can also occur. Most often, while walking, when a person slips, stumbles, he falls backward on his back and hits the back of his head. In this case, there are often cracks in the occipital bone and bruises of the brain. When falling on the buttocks, fractures of the coccyx occur. When falling sideways or forward, which is much less common, there may be bruises on the upper limbs, on the face. Falling forward and sideways often occurs on an outstretched arm, with fractures of the bones of the wrist, the lower epiphysis of the radius. There are also symmetrically located abrasions, bruises on the anterior surface of the knee joints, on the palms. The conclusion about the origin of damage when explaining their fall should be made on the basis of a comparison of objective data with the circumstances of the incident. If necessary, you should resort to a demonstration at the scene or an investigative experiment conducted by the investigator. Extensive injuries are observed in industrial trauma.

A fall from a height is usually the result of an accident. Less often it is used for suicide. In judicial and investigative practice, there are known cases of murders by dropping from a height of persons in a helpless state (in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication).

7.11. The main issues to be resolved by forensic medical examination in cases of falls from a height

1. What injuries were found during the examination of the victim? What is the mechanism of their formation? Are they characteristic of falling from a height?

2. In what position was the body of the victim at the moment of impact on the surface? On what part of the body did the fall occur?

3. Is it possible to determine by the features of the injuries whether the victim tried to coordinate the process of falling?

4. Did all the damage come from a fall from a height? Does the victim have injuries of a different origin? If there are such damages, what object caused them?

5. Is the formation of all damages possible under the given conditions?

6. What is the type of fall (free, not free, direct, indirect)?

7. If the fall is indirect, is it possible for damage to occur on certain segments of the fall trajectory?

8. Intravital or post-mortem nature of the damage resulting from a fall from a height?

9. Did the victim drink alcohol (narcotic substances) shortly before the fall?

10. If there is blood on the plane of fall, then what is its species, group and gender?

11. If there are overlays of cells on the plane of incidence, then what are their organ, tissue, group and gender affiliation?

12. In cases of examination of corpses - which of the injuries is the cause of death?

test questions

1. What damage is caused by an unarmed person?

2. What damage is caused by blunt objects?

3. What issues are resolved by forensic medical examination in case of injuries from the action of blunt instruments (objects)?

4. What injuries occur during sports and work environments?

5. What injury occurs when falling from a height?

6. What issues are resolved by a forensic medical examination in cases of falls from a height?

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Chapter 4

DAMAGE BY BLUNT OBJECTS
Injury with blunt objects is the most numerous group of mechanical injuries. As a blunt instrument for inflicting damage, a wide variety of objects found in everyday life and at work (hammer, iron, stick, stone, etc.) can be used, as well as specially made for attacks weapons - brass knuckles, handheld, flail. Injuries caused by hands, feet, teeth, etc., are most often also in the nature of blunt trauma.

Most of the damage caused by parts of a moving vehicle, damage resulting from a fall from a height or as a result of body compression, for example, during landslides, leave traces on the human body that are characteristic of the action of a blunt solid object.

A blunt tool is characterized primarily by the presence of a blunt striking surface (in the presence of edges and faces - blunt), and its effect on the body is expressed in squeezing and displacement of tissues.

Depending on the force with which a blunt object acts, extremely diverse injuries are formed on the body, ranging from the lightest to the most severe (abrasions, bruises, wounds, bone fractures, dislocations of joints, ruptures and crushing, crushing and dismemberment). However, despite the variety of blunt objects and the damage they cause, the mechanism of formation of these damages can be reduced mainly to three types: impact and concussion, compression and friction.

On impact at the point of contact of the body with a blunt solid object, various injuries occur, the nature of which is determined by the force of impact, the size and shape of the striking surface of the tool, the anatomical features of the body structure in the area of ​​damage, the condition of clothing, and many other factors.

A blow of small force is accompanied by the formation of abrasions and bruises without violating the integrity of the skin of the body. Strong blows with blunt solid objects directly at the place of application of force cause wounds, bone fractures, ruptures of internal organs and other injuries. In addition, they are usually accompanied body concussion with the formation of multiple hemorrhages in different parts of it, including at a distance from the impact site.

The main mechanism for the formation of injuries when moving vehicles, in cases of collapse and pressing the body with heavy objects is body squeezing, which is characterized primarily by mashing of soft tissues and internal organs, multiple comminuted fractures of bones, and often, when moving by rail wheels, division of the body into parts.

When a blunt object comes into contact with the body at a tangent, as well as in cases of dragging the body along the ground during a transport injury, the main mechanism for the formation of damage is friction. In this case, relatively superficial injuries in the form of abrasions and shallow wounds are most often formed. However, sometimes as a result of dragging and friction, deep injuries can also occur, involving not only soft tissues, but also bones.

Forensic practice shows that the above-described types of mechanisms for the occurrence of damage under the action of a blunt solid object are often combined with each other, which leads to the formation combined injuries and sometimes creates great difficulties in the examination.

One of characteristic features injury with blunt objects is a frequently found discrepancy between relatively minor injuries on the surface of the body in the form of abrasions and bruises and extensive ruptures and crush injuries of internal organs, multiple bone fractures, etc., established at autopsy.
Characteristics of certain types of damage by blunt objects.Abrasion is a superficial violation of the integrity of the skin or mucous membranes; with deeper damage to the skin and mucous membranes, superficial wounds occur. Abrasions are formed as a result of impact, friction or compression of the body by blunt and hard objects that have an uneven (rough) surface. The integrity of the skin and mucous membranes can also be broken when sliding on the surface of the body of the pointed end of objects such as a needle, knife, nail, etc.; the resulting linear abrasions are called scratches.

The forensic significance of abrasions and scratches is very high. First of all, it is an objective indicator of the fact of injury and the place of application of force. The shape, size, direction and location of abrasions help to find out the mechanism of injury - one of the main issues of interest to the investigation.

The form of abrasions is very diverse and depends largely on the nature of the striking surface of the object. Sometimes the shape of the abrasion reflects the shape of the damaging object, but in practice this is rare. The exception is very characteristic abrasions caused by nails and teeth.

In some cases, with a detailed study of the abrasion (according to the degree of its severity along and at the ends, the surface topography, the direction of the scales of the desquamated surface layer of the skin, etc.), it seems possible to establish the direction of movement of the damaging object. The solution of this issue is facilitated by the presence of multiple parallel linear abrasions, which are often formed when dragging the body. Establishing the direction of movement of the damaging object is important for reconstructing the picture of the incident, for example, in road accidents.

Sometimes the localization and form of abrasions are so typical that they even indicate a certain type of violence. Thus, crescentic abrasions from the nails on the neck, in the circumference of the mouth and nose, are characteristic of strangulation; the presence of such abrasions and bruises on the inner surface of the thighs and near the genitals in women indicates a possible rape or an attempt to do so.

Precipitation can also be formed after death as a result of the action of blunt solid objects. It usually has the appearance of uniform dense yellow-brown spots, somewhat sunken in relation to the level of the surrounding skin. In appearance and touch, these spots resemble parchment and are therefore called “parchment stains”.

Evidence of the lifetime origin of abrasion is the detection of a bruise in the subcutaneous tissue, as well as signs of its healing, in particular the presence of a crust that rises above the level of the skin. However, these signs are expressed only in those cases when several hours have passed from the moment of damage to the onset of death. It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to distinguish between abrasions caused immediately before death or shortly after it.

The successive changes that occur in the intravital abrasion in the process of its healing make it possible to judge the prescription of the injury. A fresh abrasion has a wet surface, then it dries up and a crust forms (after 12 - 24 hours). Under the formed crust, the abrasion is healing. Gradually, starting from the edges, the crust peels off and disappears 7–12 days after the injury. After healing, a smooth pinkish spot forms at the site of the abrasion, which becomes invisible after 10-15 days.
Bruise, is an accumulation under the skin of a certain amount of blood that has poured out as a result of rupture of small blood vessels. Translucent through the skin, it changes its color, gives the skin a blue-purple color and is therefore called a bruise in everyday life.

The degree of severity of bruising depends primarily on the amount of blood that has poured out, the depth of its location and the localization of damage. In places where there is a lot of loose fatty tissue, for example, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eyelids, mammary glands, genital organs, bruises occur with relatively light strokes, often reach significant sizes and are accompanied by severe swelling.

Sometimes, in severe trauma, crushing and delamination of soft tissues are observed with the formation of cavities filled with blood. Such large accumulations of blood in the cavities or in the interstitial layers are called a hematoma,

The forensic significance of bruises and hematomas is mainly same, like abrasions. First of all, they are objective indicators of mechanical action and indicate the place of application of force.

The shape of the bruise is irregularly rounded or oval. Only in some cases, it can indicate the object that was damaged. So, very characteristic bruises are formed when struck with a belt buckle, chain, stick, rope loop, etc. (Fig. 2).

Small round or oval bruises are formed when the soft tissues are squeezed with the fingers. Localization of such bruises in certain places, for example, on the lateral surfaces of the neck, on the inner surfaces of the thighs or in the genital area of ​​a woman, sometimes makes it possible to judge the nature of the violence that took place.

A certain importance is attached to bruising when deciding on the age of injury. In the first days after the injury, the bruise usually has a blue-reddish or purple-blue color, which gradually changes: along the periphery, the bruise begins to acquire a greenish color, after 6-9 days after the injury it becomes yellow, and after 12-14 days it disappears completely. These changes in color are associated with the transformation in the bruise of the coloring substance of the blood - hemoglobin.
Rice. 2. Bruising from being hit by belt loops
The vast majority of blunt force injuries are accompanied by bruising. Therefore, they serve as an important indicator of lifetime damage. However, it should be borne in mind that injuries caused shortly after the onset of death (after 10 - 30 minutes) may also be accompanied by the formation of bruises, outwardly similar to those in life. Therefore, in a number of cases it is very difficult to resolve the issue of intravital or postmortem origin of injuries.

And finally, it should be borne in mind that sometimes cadaveric spots can be mistaken for bruises (see Ch. 25), which outwardly are sometimes very similar to them.

Wound is a damage accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the entire thickness of the skin or mucous membrane, and often the underlying soft tissues. If the wound penetrates into any body cavity (cranial, thoracic or abdominal), it is called a penetrating wound.

Depending on the mechanism of formation, wounds caused by blunt solid objects can be divided into two main types: bruised and lacerated. Bruised wounds are formed as a result of squeezing, stretching the skin and breaking its integrity. Most often they occur in those parts of the body where bones are located close under the skin, for example, on the head, front surface of the lower leg, knee joint, etc.

The size and shape of bruised wounds are very diverse and depend primarily on the size and shape of the striking surface of the object and the structural features of the body in the area of ​​damage. When hit with blunt objects with a more or less wide flat surface, bruised wounds of an arcuate, stellate, zigzag or indefinite shape are formed. When struck with blunt solid objects with a cylindrical striking surface (log, pipe, etc.), irregularly shaped bruised wounds are observed with skin sedimentation along the edges and crushing of soft tissues in the center.

Sometimes blunt objects, such as a hammer, an ax butt, an iron, inflict bruised wounds that reflect some of the features of the striking part of the object. So, from a blow with a quadrangular hammer, a U-shaped wound is often formed, when struck with a round hammer, an arcuate wound, etc.

Rice. 3. Bruised wounds
Wounds from blunt objects have characteristic edges, corners and a wound surface (bottom). Their edges are uneven, raw, soaked in blood, crushed and often exfoliated from the underlying tissues (Fig. 3); the bottom is uneven, hemorrhagic; in the depth of the wound, especially in its corners, between the edges

damage, thin thread-like jumpers of unruptured tissues are found. Wounds caused by blunt objects usually bleed very little.

The described signs make it possible to recognize bruised wounds with their careful examination without much difficulty. The exception is bruised wounds of a linear shape with relatively smooth edges and pointed corners. By appearance they are very similar to incised or chopped wounds. In order to avoid errors, it is necessary to carefully examine the bottom and edges to detect connective tissue bridges, which always occur in bruised wounds and are not observed with incised and stab-cut injuries.

Bruised wounds are of great forensic and forensic significance. They make it possible to establish the fact of the use of a blunt weapon, often make it possible to judge the features of the damaging object (the presence of edges, corners, etc.), and their location, number and severity often make it possible to determine the nature of the violence.

Sometimes in the depths and along the edges of the wound, particles of the object that caused the injury (wood chips, glass fragments, bricks) can be found, which can help in identifying the instrument of crime.

If a solid blunt object acts at an acute angle to the surface of the body, then as a result of stretching and tearing the skin, lacerations are formed. They have many features in common with bruised ones, but crushing and bruising of the edges, as well as sedimentation of the surrounding skin, are weakly expressed or absent altogether. In forensic practice, bruised and lacerated wounds are often windy, in which signs of both wounds are observed.

A variety of lacerated wounds are bitten wounds caused by the teeth of animals and humans. Bite marks from a person's teeth can sometimes be the subject of a forensic medical examination to identify the person who caused the injury.

Lacerations are also formed as a result of rupture of soft tissues and skin in the direction from the inside outward by fragments of broken bones. Unlike bruised ones, such wounds do not have skin sedimentation and crushing of the edges.

In forensic practice, it is often necessary to resolve the issue of the limitation of inflicting a wound. This is done on the basis of studying the signs of healing. It should be borne in mind that the healing time of bruised and lacerated wounds largely depends on the size, location, infection, method of treatment and other factors. Therefore, the assessment of the prescription of wounds caused by blunt objects must be approached with caution. If the wound has healed and a scar has formed in its place, it is extremely difficult to determine the prescription of the injury.

bone fracture often occurs as a result of the impact of blunt solid objects. In the long tubular bones of the upper and lower extremities, transverse, oblique, comminuted and spiral fractures are observed.

Bone fractures, accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the skin, are called open, and without violation - closed. According to the mechanism of origin, direct fractures are distinguished, which form at the place of application of force, and indirect or indirect, which occur at a distance from the place of impact.

By the nature of fractures, it is sometimes possible to judge the mechanism of injury, the direction of impact and the position of the victim at the time of injury.

In forensic medicine highest value have damage to the bones of the skull: cracks, divergence of sutures and fractures - depressed, perforated and comminuted. Cracks in the bones of the skull are through (penetrating through the entire thickness of the bone) and non-through. They are formed as a result of the deflection of the bones of the skull in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bstrong impact. Cracks often branch out at an acute angle, with its apex, as a rule, facing the place where the force is applied. The greatest gaping of cracks is observed near the impact site, and their direction usually coincides with the direction of the damaging force. The divergence of the sutures between the bones of the skull according to the mechanism of formation is similar to the origin of cracks and is often combined with them.

As a result of blows to the head with blunt hard objects with a small surface, such as a hammer, so-called perforated fractures are formed on the bones of the skull, reflecting to one degree or another the shape and dimensions of the striking surface, and in shape and size they sometimes exactly correspond to the striking surface of the tool that caused trauma, which is important for identification.

When struck by blunt solid objects with a limited cylindrical or blunt surface (crowbar, brick, etc.). depressed fractures are formed on the bones of the skull, consisting of several interconnected fragments that protrude into the cranial cavity and injure the brain (Fig. 4).

As a result of impact with massive heavy objects, for example, during a transport injury, a fall from a height, comminuted fractures of the bones of the vault and base of the skull are formed. The direction of the main fracture lines, as a rule, coincides with the direction of the external impact. Comminuted fractures can also occur as a result of multiple blows to the head with a relatively small blunt object; this is characterized by the presence of multiple bruised wounds on the soft tissues of the head.

Rice. four. Depressed skull fracture from stone impact
A strong impact with an object with a wide striking surface causes the formation of a multi-comminuted fracture as a result of cracking of the skull (Fig. 5). The extreme degree of compression of the skull, for example, by the wheel of a car, is characterized by flattening of the head and crushing of the brain. Such an injury in most cases ends in death already at the scene.

As a result of the action of a blunt force on the human body, there are also sprains and dislocations of the joints. In forensic practice, these injuries are less common than bone fractures, and are usually combined with them. By dislocations, one can sometimes judge the mechanism of injury and the strength of external influence.

Damage to internal organs from the action of blunt objects are in the form of hemorrhages, detachments, ruptures and crushing. The nature of these injuries is also certain value to determine the mechanism of injury.

Hemorrhages are formed both from blows and from concussions and are usually combined with ruptures and crushing. With strong blows and concussions, for example, with a transport injury, falls from a height, landslides and compression of the body by heavy objects, separations and ruptures of internal organs are observed. However, it should be borne in mind that ruptures can also occur from blows with relatively small objects, such as a stick, a stone, as well as a fist with a shod leg.
Rice. 5. Multifragmentary fracture
The nature of the damage depends not only on the force of impact, compression or concussion, but also on the anatomical structure of the organ itself. Most often, the liver, spleen, and less often the lungs, stomach, intestines, and bladder are torn.

Compression of the body with a very large force, for example, when moving the wheels of a vehicle or crushing between cars, when heavy objects fall on the body, it is accompanied by crushing and kneading of individual organs and even the whole body.

With crushing, complete destruction of the organ is observed, and as a result, crushed, along with crushing of tissues and organs, fractures and crushing of bones also occur.

Complete or incomplete separation of the body into separate parts occurs when a blunt solid object with a limited surface is acted upon with great force, for example, when crossing a rail transport wheel.

Hitting the head with a blunt object or hitting the head with a blunt object while falling can cause a concussion. At the same time, in the impact area, sometimes there are no noticeable traces of damage.

A concussion is accompanied by loss of consciousness lasting from several minutes to several hours or even days (depending on the severity of the injury). In severe forms of concussion, death can occur quite quickly due to dysfunction of the central nervous system. At the same time, no noticeable anatomical lesions in the brain were found at the autopsy.

Blows to the head are often accompanied by ruptures of blood vessels with hemorrhages under the membranes of the brain. Blood flowing from a ruptured vessel accumulates in the cranial cavity, causing compression of the brain and disruption of its functions, which can lead to death. Blows to the head with a blunt hard object sometimes cause contusion of the brain with hemorrhage into the substance; it should be borne in mind that a brain contusion is often located not at the site of a blow to the head, but on the opposite side, in the area of ​​the so-called counter-strike.

If there are multiple injuries on the corpse with blunt objects, it is difficult to decide whether they were caused by one or more objects, since, on the one hand, different blunt objects often cause similar injuries, and on the other hand, traces of the action of the same object can have a different look. Only a sharp difference in the nature of the damage itself allows us to judge that they were caused not by one, but by several blunt objects.

The main tasks of a forensic medical examination in case of damage by blunt objects is to establish signs by which one can judge the nature of the damaging object, its shape, size and individual qualities, the direction of the blow, the sequence of damage (if there are several injuries on the body), the infliction of damage by one or several tools, the posture of the victim during the injury, the relative position of the victim and the attacker, etc. In addition, in all cases, the issue of the severity of bodily injuries in a living person and the cause of death in a deceased person is decided.
Impact damage from a fall from a height are accompanied by the formation of characteristic damage, which makes it possible to exclude other types of mechanical injury. The predominance of internal injuries over external ones is typical. On the skin, in places of contact of the body with the striking surface, only small abrasions, bruises, and sometimes lacerations and bruises are formed. In an internal study, as a rule, deep massive hemorrhages, ruptures, and sometimes separations of internal organs, comminuted fractures of many bones (ribs, skull, limbs, etc.) are found.

A fall on the legs causes symmetrical fractures of the calcaneal bones, the so-called impacted fractures of the legs, hips, fractures of the base of the skull, in which the cervical spine is wedged into the cranial cavity and the head is, as it were, planted on the spinal column. A fall on the buttocks is accompanied by fractures of the spine, and a fall on the head is accompanied by multi-comminuted fractures of the skull, brain injuries and fractures of the cervical spine.

Falling from a height is usually an accident, less commonly a suicide; killing by dropping from a height is rare. There are essentially no forensic medical signs that make it possible to judge the type of death in a fall from a height, and an expert, based on an examination of a corpse, often cannot determine the type of violent death. However, he can detect other types of injuries on the corpse (knife, gunshot wounds, marks on the neck from pressure with fingers, etc.), suggesting that the corpse of a previously killed person was dropped from a height. At the same time, both intravital injuries that led to death and post-mortem injuries, formed as a result of dropping the corpse from a height, are found on the corpse.

When falling from a small height, for example, from a height of one's own height, fractures of the upper and lower extremities, ribs, concussions and bruises of the brain, cracks and fractures of the skull are also sometimes observed. The latter are more often located in the occipital or temporal regions, where, as a rule, there are bruises, abrasions and bruised wounds in the soft tissues, according to the place of impact.

Causes of sports injury most often are the wrong organization of sports activities, ignoring protective equipment and injury prevention measures, non-compliance with the rules of "insurance" of the athlete, premature admission to classes after an illness, and sometimes the deliberate use of prohibited techniques by athletes.

A sports injury usually becomes the object of a forensic medical examination in cases of causing fatal injuries. Among them, fractures of the cervical spine with damage to the spinal cord are most common (when jumping headfirst into the water, falling from gymnastic equipment), less often - severe head trauma with fractures of the skull bones and hemorrhages under the meninges (during wrestling, boxing, falls) and even less often - damage to the organs of the chest and abdomen.

When investigating sports injuries, in addition to the forensic physician, physical education doctors, qualified athletes, instructors and coaches should be involved as experts and carefully study the circumstances of the injury. Strict adherence to sports rules and medical control requirements is the best way to prevent sports injuries.
Chapter 5

DAMAGE BY SHARP OBJECTS
Sharp tools include various solid objects that have a sharp damaging surface and (or) a pointed end.

Depending on their shape, the nature of the sharp surface and pointed end, the way they cause damage, all sharp tools are divided into cutting, piercing-cutting, piercing and chopping. Accordingly, cut, stab-cut, stab and chopped wounds are distinguished.

In addition to damage by sharp tools, sometimes there are injuries caused by sawing (saw) and gouging (chisel, chisel) objects.

Taking into account the possibilities of forensic medical examination in the study of injuries from sharp weapons, the investigator may raise the following questions: what and one or more weapons caused injuries; whether all damages are caused simultaneously, if not, what is their sequence; what injury was the direct cause of death; in what direction the damage was inflicted, what is the possible relative position of the victim and the attacker; what is the approximate shape of the blade of the tool (double-edged or one-sided-edged), its length and width; whether the damage was caused by the tool submitted for examination; they are characteristic of suicide or could only be caused by an outsider, etc.

Damage from cutting tools. Cutting tools include knives and razors, glass fragments, etc. They are characterized by the presence of a sharp cutting edge - a blade that, when pressed and moving along the surface of the body, cuts soft tissues and penetrates into their thickness. In this case, incised wounds occur, which are most often located on open parts of the body: neck, face, forearms and hands. Wounds usually have a rectilinear direction, less common are linear-arc-shaped, patchwork and slit-like. Due to the elasticity of the skin and contractility of the muscles, the edges of the wounds diverge, the wounds gape and acquire an elongated spindle-shaped or semi-lunar shape (Fig. 6).

For incised wounds, the predominance of length over depth is typical; the depth, as a rule, is limited to soft tissues. The most important signs of incised wounds are smooth smooth edges and sharp corners. Abundant external bleeding from cut vessels is characteristic. The resulting streaks of blood on clothes and the body make it possible to judge the position of the body at the time of injury.

Sometimes, at one of the corners of the incised wound, one can see a superficial linear incision on the skin, which was formed as a result of the movement of the tool when it was removed from the wound. Such incisions can help the forensic expert in deciding the direction of movement of the weapon at the time of the wound.

In some cases, along the edges and in the corners of the main deep wound, additional superficial incisions in the form of notches are found on the skin, which indicate that the damage was caused as a result of several movements of the cutting tool. The presence of such additional skin incisions in the corners and along the edges of the wound, located, for example, on the front surface of the neck, is very typical for suicide (Fig. 7).

Rice. 6. Multiple incised wounds. Murder

Rice. 7. Incised wound.

Multiple incisions

in the corners
For the purpose of suicide, deep incised wounds are sometimes inflicted with damage to the vessels on the anterior surface of the lower third of the forearms. Wounds in this area are usually multiple, of different depths and are located in the transverse direction, often parallel to each other.

At the bottom of deep incised wounds, sometimes upon careful examination, traces of additional incisions on cartilage, arterial walls, periosteum and other dense tissues can be found.

Bone injuries by cutting objects are rare and, as a rule, are limited superficial linear incisions (notches) of the bone.

When examining a corpse with incised wounds, one of the main tasks is to establish the type of injuring weapon, and if possible, to determine its individual characteristics. These forensic data sometimes make it possible to exclude the use of one or another weapon.
On the road, in a pool of blood, the corpse of rp-na S was found. There were two gaping cut wounds on the cheek and neck on the right. Shards of a green glass bottle were scattered near the corpse, among them one large one with a bottle neck.

The investigation established that during the fight the victim had been hit on the head with a bottle, after which, allegedly, Mr. B. had stabbed him twice in the area of ​​his cheek and neck. However, Mr. B. categorically denied his involvement in the murder. When examining a corpse in the morgue, it was found that a cut wound on the neck penetrates deep into the soft tissues by 4 cm and damages large arteries in its path, bleeding from which was the cause of death.

Some time later, a Finnish knife was found near the scene of the incident. In this regard, a second examination was appointed with the exhumation of the corpse. The expert commission concluded that the fatal wounds could have been caused by the knife submitted for examination, but not by the neck of the broken bottle.

The court found Mr. P. guilty of hitting the head with a bottle causing minor bodily harm, and Mr. B - guilty of inflicting fatal stab wounds to the cheek and neck. soft tissues, microfragments of glass were found in the depths of the wound channels of the cheek and neck. A special study (spectral, luminescent) established the homogeneity of their chemical composition with fragments of a green glass bottle found at the scene. These new data, given the nature of the wounds on the cheek and neck, led to the conclusion that the fatal cut wounds could have been caused by fragments of a bottle that had broken when hit on the head. This conclusion refuted the version of the guilt of Mr. B. in the murder and served as the basis for his acquittal.
Damage by piercing-cutting tools. This group includes damage caused by tools that have the properties of piercing and cutting objects. In forensic practice, they are more common than damage caused by other types of sharp tools (cutting, stabbing, chopping, etc.).

To piercing-cutting tools include knives with pointed blades, daggers, daggers. There are tools with a double-edged (sharpened on both sides) blade - daggers, daggers and with a single-edged blade, which have one sharpened blade and a blunt edge - butts (various knives, fins, scissors).

The stab-cut wounds inflicted by these tools have a linear-slit-like or (when the edges diverge) fusiform-oval shape. The edges of the stab wound are smooth. The angles, depending on the properties of the butt and the blade, are of a different nature. If a wound is inflicted with a knife with a one-sided sharpening of the blade and a thick butt, then one end of it, the corresponding butt, will have a rounded or even U-shaped shape, and the other will look like an acute angle; the entire wound in such cases acquires a wedge-shaped shape (Fig. 8).

When wounded with a double-edged weapon, a stab wound has sharp corners and smooth edges and is sometimes similar to a cut wound. hallmark stab wound from incised in such cases, there is a significant predominance of the depth of the stab wound over its

linear dimensions on the skin; this is one of the characteristic signs of stab wounds. Penetrating deep into the tissues, the blade of the weapon forms a so-called wound channel in them.

Rice. 8. Multiple stab and stab wounds caused by scissors
The dimensions of a stab-cut wound on the skin are usually larger than the width of the part of the blade that has entered the tissue, since simultaneously with piercing and penetration into the depth due to the movement of the weapon towards the blade, especially at the moment of extraction from the wound, a cutting action occurs. In this regard, it is difficult to judge the width of the blade by the size of the wound, and the forensic expert is usually forced to limit himself to indicating that the width of the blade is no more than the length of the skin wound. Only when the blade is inserted perpendicularly into the body, the length of the skin wound approximately corresponds to the width of the blade.

Around the wound on the skin, as a rule, neither hemorrhages nor precipitation are observed. Only when the weapon (knife, stylet, dagger) is immersed in the body up to the handle, the latter forms a sedimentation or imprint around the hole on the skin, and in the initial part of the wound channel - a hemorrhage due to bruising and tissue compression. According to such an imprint of the handle or limiter on the skin, it is possible to assert that the blade of the weapon entered the body to its full length.

In cases where the blade rotates around its axis when being removed from the wound or when the victim makes movements at the moment of injury, an additional incision is formed at an angle to the main wound, extending either from its corner or from one of the edges near the corner. Sometimes the end of the wound takes the form of a dovetail (Fig. 9).

The length of the wound channel depends on the length of the blade and the depth of its penetration into the tissues. However, to judge the length of the wound channel by the depth

blade is not always possible, since it may not be inserted into the body to its full length. Therefore, a forensic expert in the presence of a wound in areas of the human body that are not easily compressible (for example, the head, chest, back) can only suggest that the length of the blade of the weapon was not less than the depth of the wound channel. If the damage is located in the abdomen, then it is generally not possible to judge the length of the blade of the weapon by the depth of the wound channel, since the wound channel in such cases can be much larger than the length of the blade due to the depression of the easily compressible soft tissues of the anterior abdominal wall with the handle.

Penetrating deep into the body, piercing and cutting tools often damage flat bones - the skull, sternum, ribs, etc. and form wounds on them that correspond in shape and size to the cross section of the blade. This has an important medical and forensic significance for determining the type of weapon,

Rice. 9. Stab wounds on the hand during wrestling and self-defense
Sometimes, when the bones are damaged, the broken end of the blade of a piercing-cutting tool may remain in their thickness. In such cases, it is possible to carry out traceological studies in order to identify the tool by establishing the whole in parts.

To determine the wounding object, along with other expert data, special studies of scrapings and washings from the surface of the used tool can also be used. In them, it is often possible to detect the smallest particles of wounded organs, for example, cells of the liver, kidneys, and lungs. To solve the problem of the shape and size of a sharp tool, it is also important to study the nature of damage to clothing (see Chap. 36).

To piercing weapons include objects that have an elongated shape and a pointed end (awl, needle, nail, tetrahedral bayonet, fork teeth, etc.).

The piercing tool is introduced deep into the body by delamination and pushing apart the tissues. In this case, as a rule, a small inlet is formed, a long wound channel and, in rare cases, an outlet, which is usually smaller in size than the inlet.

The shape of the inlet depends primarily on the shape of the tool and its cross section. So, conical or cylindrical objects having a round or oval section cause a slit-like stab wound, which, due to gaping, can take the form of an oval. As a result of being wounded by piercing tools having edges, for example, a bayonet, star-shaped entrance wounds are formed with the number of rays corresponding to the number of edges. At the same time, piercing objects with numerous shallow edges form wounds of a slit-like or oval shape with small, barely noticeable skin tears along the edges caused by the edges.

The diameter of stab wounds due to the contractility of the skin, as a rule, is less than the dimensions of the cross section of the tool.

When wounded very narrow long objects, for example, with an awl, a knitting needle, small punctate wounds appear on the skin, which may not be noticed during a cursory examination. At the same time, they can serve as the beginning of a stab wound, penetrating deeply into the tissues and damaging the heart, large vessels and other vital important organs.

Wounding of flat bones (skull, sternum, shoulder blades, pelvis) with piercing objects is accompanied by the formation of holes, similar in shape to the cross section of the wounding tool. At the same time, round-shaped injuries, similar to gunshot ones, sometimes occur on the bones, which can lead to an expert error. In such cases, it is necessary to carefully examine the inlet and wound channel. The absence of a tissue defect, rubbing and settling belts, as well as other signs of an entrance gunshot wound (see below) makes it possible to correctly establish the nature of the damage.

The location of stab and stab wounds on the body is very diverse. Most often in cases of murder, they are on the back, chest, neck and abdomen. In suicides, stab wounds are usually located in the region of the heart and are multiple; most of them are superficial and only a few deep wounds cause damage to any vital organ. Death from stab and stab wounds occurs most often from heavy bleeding from damaged large vessels, the heart and other internal organs.

Damage from slashing weapons. Chopping tools are relatively heavy objects with a sharp blade, such as an ax, a saber, the effect of which on the body is carried out by striking. Chopped wounds formed as a result of such blows have a linear shape, smooth edges and sharp fragility.

On soft tissues, these wounds outwardly very much resemble incised ones, but differ from them in the great depth and massiveness of the damage caused. Chopped wounds, unlike incised wounds, are characterized by damage to the bones.

When striking with the heel or toe of an ax, the angles of the chopped wound on the skin will not be the same: on the side of the blade, the angle will be sharp, and on the side of the heel or toe, it will be somewhat rounded and may have an additional tear, and the wound itself often takes on an elongated wedge shape.

If the blade of a chopping object is not sharp enough, and it itself has a wide wedge-shaped base (for example, a cleaver), then the edges of the wound can be upset, and sometimes even have small hemorrhages. Such wounds resemble bruised ones, often occurring on the head when struck with the edge of a blunt object.

Damage to bones by chopping objects with a sharp blade is very typical. Often they repeat the shape of the cross-section of the penetrated tool (especially on flat bones). At the place of the cut, a flat section is formed on the bone, on which sometimes, through traceological studies, it is possible to identify individual particular features of the chopping tool: bumps, notches, and other features that can be used for identification purposes.

In forensic practice, chopped skull injuries are most common. Depending on the strength of the impact, linear cuts or linear-slit-like cuts are formed on the bones, often penetrating into the cranial cavity. When struck with the heel or toe of an ax, wedge-perforated fractures often occur, penetrating into the cranial cavity. Attention should be paid to additional cracks in the bones of the skull extending from the corners or edges of the chopped wound, as their direction may indicate the direction of impact.

In addition to cuts and cuts, with numerous blows with a chopping object, multiple cracks and comminuted fractures form on the bones, especially with a blunt blade. Outwardly, they are difficult to distinguish from damage caused by the edge of a blunt object.

Chopped wounds are most often located on the head, sometimes on the back of the neck and, as a rule, are applied by an outside hand. Suicide by inflicting chopped damage is extremely rare. There are known cases of suicide by inflicting chopped head wounds. At the same time, multiple shallow lesions parallel to each other are observed, located in the frontal and parietal regions of the head, penetrating in the total mass into the cranial cavity.
Chapter 6

TRANSPORT INJURY
Fatal and non-fatal injuries caused by parts of any moving vehicle, as well as arising from vehicle accidents or as a result of falling from a moving vehicle, are referred to as a traffic injury.

In the USSR, thanks to the precise organization of the work of the State Automobile Inspectorate, the strict requirements for drivers, and the implementation of appropriate preventive measures, the fight against transport injuries is being successfully carried out.

Traffic accidents are usually the result of an accident.

Transport injury is usually divided into injury from trackless transport (cars, motorcycles, etc.) and injury from rail transport (railway, tram, etc.). Most often at present, there is an automobile injury, somewhat less often - a railway injury.

The value of forensic medical examination in the investigation of a transport injury is very high. In these cases, the following main questions are posed to the expert: are the injuries discovered really a transport injury, what type of transport caused them, what is the mechanism of formation (hitting, moving, falling from a moving vehicle, etc.), in what position was the victim in relation to transport at the time of damage.

The success of the investigation is largely determined by the correct and timely inspection of the scene. Participation in the examination by a forensic expert can help the investigator determine the time of death, the nature of injuries on the body and clothing, as well as find traces of blood, hair, particles of the human body both at the scene and on the vehicle, remove them and send them to the forensic laboratory for relevant research.

Often, an inspection of the scene of an accident in case of a traffic injury is carried out without a corpse, which had already been sent to the morgue before in order to avoid traffic disruption on the road and crowds of people. In this regard, of particular importance is the examination of clothes by a forensic medical expert in the morgue and the examination of the corpse. At the same time, prints of the tire tread, paint that covered the car, and other features can be found on the victim’s clothes, thanks to which, with the help of forensic examination, it is sometimes possible to identify the car that has made the collision.

In cases of a railway accident, the victim's clothing is heavily contaminated with lubricants and coal dust.

In case of transport injuries, sometimes the question arises about the usefulness of the victim's hearing and vision. To solve it, autopsy data are not always sufficient, and therefore it is required to study additional medical documents about the deceased (outpatient card, medical history, etc.).

In all cases of a fatal transport injury, blood, urine or parts of internal organs (brain, liver, kidneys) must be sent to the forensic laboratory for the qualitative and quantitative determination of alcohol in them.

A car injury is understood as bodily injury caused by parts of a moving car, as well as resulting from a fall from a car while driving. Other types of damage occurring on vehicles (burns when a car ignites, poisoning with gasoline vapors or exhaust gases, etc.) should not be attributed to a car injury.

There are the following main types of car injury: hit (collision), running over with wheels, pressing the body by a car against an immovable object (wall, pole, etc.), falling from a car while driving, injury inside a car (for example, when it collides with an obstacle ) and combined injuries - impact (collision) with subsequent moving of the body by a wheel or wheels.
Rice. 10. Abrasions from impact with the lining of the radiator of a car
Upon impact (collision), a body is thrown back, followed by a fall and sliding on the road surface. Impacts are most often applied by the front buffer (bumper), headlights, fender, radiator, body; less often - the rear of the car. In this case, abrasions and bruises, lacerations, bone fractures, and ruptures of internal organs are usually formed.

The nature of the injuries and their location on the body sometimes allow the forensic expert to judge which part of the car was hit and in what position the victim was in relation to it. To do this, it is necessary to accurately measure the height of the damage from the sole and compare it with the corresponding parts of the car.

When struck, unilateral damage to soft tissues and bones in the area of ​​impact is often formed.

In some cases, when hitting a body, injuries occur that reflect the features of the hitting part of the car - characteristic abrasions when hit by a radiator (Fig. 10), arched and rounded bruises caused by headlights, soft tissue damage and bone fractures at the level of the front buffer (the so-called bumper - fracture).

After the impact and throwing of the body with a fall on the ground, there are various? lesions mainly on the head, arms and legs. Often there are extensive deposits in the form of parallel stripes (traces of sliding), which can be used to judge the direction of movement of the discarded body after the fall. Slip marks in the form of parallel stripes can also be seen on clothes and shoes.

When hit by a wheel, as a result of compression of the body, very characteristic injuries are formed, by which it is often possible to judge the mechanism of injury and distinguish it from other types of mechanical violence. These include bilateral vertical fractures of the pelvic bones when moving through the pelvic region, imprints of the wheel tread on clothes and on the skin, peeling of the skin when moving through a limb, multi-comminuted fracture of the skull bones with crushing of the brain and flattening of the head when moving it. Bilateral multiple fractures of the ribs, with fractures of each rib in two or three places, fractures of the vertebrae and scapulae are typical for moving with the wheel of a car through the chest. When moving through the chest or abdomen, massive ruptures and crushing of the internal organs are observed, when moving through the limbs, comminuted transverse fractures of tubular bones are observed. From the side of the wheel entry, more severe injuries are usually noted with skin peeling, massive hemorrhages in the muscles; on the opposite side, they are much less common.

The mechanism of injury in a fall from the body is based on hitting the ground and shaking the body. The resulting damage is similar to those that occur when falling from a height. Pressing the body by a car to immovable objects is most often characterized by damage to the organs of the chest and abdomen as a result of their compression.

Injuries in the cab or body are usually observed during incidents: a collision of cars, a collision with a fixed obstacle, sudden braking, etc. As a result of a blow to the internal parts and devices of a car, damage of various nature and severity is formed: abrasions, bruises, wounds, fractures bones, etc., which are located mainly on the front surface of the face, trunk and limbs. Sometimes multiple wounds from glass fragments form on the face and hands.

In case of combined injuries, for example, when hitting the front of a car with a subsequent fall and moving through the body with the rear wheel, damage is formed that is characteristic of both types of car injury.

It should be borne in mind that with almost all types of fatal car injury, external injuries to the body are usually less pronounced than internal ones. This is explained, on the one hand, by the fact that clothing protects the skin from damage, and on the other hand, by the strength of the skin itself. Examination of the soft tissues of the trunk and limbs reveals additional injuries that are invisible during external examination of the corpse. This helps to resolve the issue of the mechanism of car injury.

The mechanism of injury when a motorcycle collides with a pedestrian is the impact of protruding parts of the motorcycle (front wheel, steering wheel, headlight, cylinders of two-cylinder motorcycles, the front of the sidecar and its frame). Damage occurring at the site of impact (the so-called primary, or contact) in the form of abrasions, bruises and wounds, less often bone fractures, are usually located on the lower extremities at levels corresponding to the height of the striking part.

Damage characteristic of this type of injury includes parallel linear abrasions caused by ribbed air cooling plates of the cylinders, and round bruises from headlight impacts. As a result of the subsequent fall and impact on the road, secondary injuries occur, most often in the head area, in the form of cracks and fractures of the skull bones and brain damage.

Collision with oncoming traffic and falling from a motorcycle while driving often leads to severe traumatic brain injury, often fatal.

Tractor injury. In forensic practice, sometimes there are injuries caused by wheeled and caterpillar tractors.

Tractor injury is observed mainly in agricultural work and in the forestry industry. Injuries caused by a wheeled tractor most often occur as a result of the tractor tipping over and squeezing the body. They are characterized by multiple fractures of bones, ruptures and crushing of internal organs. On the body, characteristic stamp-imprints are sometimes formed, more or less clearly reproducing the contours of the protruding parts of the tractor.

In cases of wheel running over the chest, multiple bilateral fractures of the ribs and damage to internal organs occur, similar to injuries caused by a car wheel. When moving through the stomach, intestinal ruptures, crushing of the liver, spleen, and kidney ruptures are observed. Sometimes the prints of the tire-wheel are visible on the clothes. Moving over the head is always accompanied by multiple skull fractures with crushing of the brain and flattening of the head.

Moving by a caterpillar tractor is characterized by severe injuries in the form of fractures and crushing of bones, ruptures and crushing of internal organs and, as a rule, leads to death already at the scene. As a result of the pressure of spurs (spurs) transversely located on the tracks of the tractor, very characteristic lesions are formed on the skin in the form of multiple parallel strip-like abrasions and bruises, the nature of which sometimes makes it possible to establish the brand of the tractor that caused the damage.

In second place after the automobile is railroad injury. Most often, it is the result of an accidental hit by a moving railway transport (when walking along the tracks, landing or jumping off on the go) or a train crash. Much less common are cases of suicide, which are characterized by wheel injuries in the form of separation of the head from the body or division of the human body into two halves.

Cases of murder using a railroad vehicle as a murder weapon are extremely rare; more common is the laying of a corpse on the rails in order to stage an accident or suicide.

According to the mechanism, several main types of railway injury are distinguished: moving by wheels, blows by protruding parts of the transport, compression between cars (most often between buffers or parts of the mechanism of the automatic coupler), falling from a moving vehicle, and combined injuries (impact by parts of the transport followed by moving the wheels ), injuries inside cars as a result of railway accidents.

Railway damage can be divided into two main groups: damage typical and atypical, resulting from other types of violence.

typical are the damage that occurs as a result of moving through the body of the wheels of railway transport. These include traces of pressure on the skin at the point where the wheels were driven over. They have a characteristic appearance of wide, dense, brown stripes, along the edges of which there are often rubbing strips formed from the impact of the side surfaces of the wheels. The severity of the pressure bands depends on the nature of the clothing: the thicker the clothing, the less pronounced they are.

The separation of the head from the body as a result of rolling the wheels over the neck, as well as the separation of the body by the wheels at the level of the chest or abdomen, may be complete or incomplete. In the latter case, the head and trunk or both halves of the trunk are connected to each other by musculocutaneous or skin bridges (Fig. 11). In places where the wheel moves, crushing of soft tissues and internal organs, as well as crushing of bones, are observed. At the same time, massive hemorrhages are found in the soft tissues, which serve as evidence of the trauma's imminence.

Separation of the limbs with a characteristic fragmentation of the bones into many large and small bone fragments at the site of the wheel crossing. Dividing the body by wheels into many parts, scattering them sometimes at a considerable distance from each other. In such cases, characteristic traces of dragging along the roadbed are often found on parts of the body.

Typical railway injuries also include compression of the body between the buffers, which results in extensive multiple fractures of the chest, shoulder blades, and spine with severe injuries to the organs of the chest and abdominal cavities. Sometimes buffer plates are imprinted on the skin of the chest and back. Similar damages also occur during compression in the automatic coupling mechanism. Traces of dragging in the form of multiple parallel abrasions and scratches are characteristic.

Rice. 11. Skin lacerations along the wheel pressure band
To atypical injuries include lacerated and bruised wounds, abrasions and bruises, bone fractures and other injuries resulting from blows by parts of a moving vehicle or as a result of knocking and blowing when a body falls onto a railway track.

And finally common feature of all railway damage, both typical and atypical, is the presence on clothing and on the body of traces of lubricants, coal and materials from the ballast layer of the railway track.

Aviation injury covers damage arising from flight accidents, among which a distinction is made between a catastrophe, an accident and a forced landing.

The damage that occurs on the human body when an aircraft crashes is very diverse and depends on the type of aircraft, its speed, the height of the fall, the nature of the terrain (water, forest, field, etc.) and many other conditions.

In aviation accidents, there is often a complete destruction of the body with its division into small parts, massive destruction with gross ruptures of the skin, crushing of soft tissues and bone fractures.

Explosion damage in jet aircraft crashes is generally more severe than in piston aircraft crashes.

During engine start, takeoff and takeoff, propeller blades sometimes damage planes and other parts of the aircraft.