title: External injury marks (wounds) on the head in different types of blunt trauma in an autopsy series.
abstract: The localization, length and number of deep scalp wounds caused by falls on a flat surface (n = 203), falls down stairs (n = 51) and from blows (n = 51) were examined in a comparative analysis of 305 deaths. This confirmed the common finding in forensic literature that head injuries from blows occur more often (55% of cases) above the so-called hat-brim line (= greatest horizontal head circumference) than injuries from falls on a flat surface. On the other hand, around one third of the wounds caused by falls were located above this line. In blows and falls down stairs, but not in falls on a flat surface, the wounds close to the crown of the head were markedly longer than those in or below the hat-brim line. Regarding wounds inside the hat-brim line, there were hardly any differences between the three trauma types.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ehrlich
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maxeiner
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014754:Violence; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000473:pathology*