title: Homicide attempt with a Japanese samurai sword.
abstract: The use of Japanese swords for homicidal attempts is rare. A Japanese samurai sword is a sharp and cutting object. When faced with the use of this weapon, one must distinguish between stabs and incised wounds. Incised wounds can rarely lead to death, but because of the size of the weapon, stabs usually cause much more serious injuries. Stabs also imply a penetrating movement, whereas incised wounds can be the consequence of protective circular blows. Therefore, it is important to distinguish clinically between these two kinds of wounds. We report a case where the perpetrator argued he had given a circular blow, unfortunately hitting the victim. The pieces of evidence are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Mèdecine Légale, 11 rue Humann, 67085 Strasbourg Cedex, France. Jean-Sebastien.Raul@iml-ulp.u-strasbg.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Sébastien
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Raul
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berthelon
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geraut
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tracqui
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ludes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000473:pathology*