FM5.1-6,FM14.{1,9-10} | Mechanical Injuries & Wounds — Glossary

An abrasion ring around the entry wound of a bullet, produced by the bullet's rotational momentum driving the skin inward and abrasively contacting it during entry; a key identifying feature of a firearm entry wound.

A mechanical injury involving only the epidermis, produced by tangential or compressive blunt force, characterised by absence of a skin gap and no deep haemorrhage.

An injury lacking a deliberate pattern, mechanistically consistent with the described accident, typically non-patterned and without defence wounds.

An injury inflicted on a living person, evidenced by vital reaction: active bleeding, PMN infiltration within 30 minutes, macrophage activity within 24-48 hours.

A spear or lance with a metal point; produces penetrating stab-type wounds with depth greatly exceeding surface length.

Soot deposition around a firearm entry wound in contact or close range shots (within approximately 30 cm); indicates the wound was inflicted at close range.

The criminal code of India enacted in 2023, which replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 on 1 July 2024; all medico-legal certificates must cite BNS section numbers.

A laceration over a bony prominence produced by compression of skin between the bone and the causative blunt object, with relatively clean-appearing edges that may mimic an incised wound but retain tissue bridges on close examination.

The documented, unbroken sequence of possession of a medico-legal exhibit (weapon, biological sample) from seizure by police through examination and return; required for court admissibility.

The documented sequence of possession of a medico-legal exhibit (specimen, weapon, clothing) from collection through examination to court submission; its integrity is required for the exhibit to be admissible.

An injury produced by a heavy sharp weapon (axe, dao) combining features of both incised and lacerated wounds, often associated with bone notching or fracture.

Medical records and MLCs completed at the time of examination rather than retrospectively; contemporaneous records have greater legal weight and are less vulnerable to challenge as to accuracy.

A brain contusion or haemorrhage on the side opposite to the impact site, produced by the brain decelerating against the inner skull surface away from the point of impact.

A blunt force injury with intact overlying skin, producing haemorrhage into subcutaneous or deeper tissues due to vessel rupture under compression.

Causing death of a person with the intention of causing death, or with the knowledge that the act is likely to cause death; includes both culpable homicide not amounting to murder (S101) and murder (S103).

An injury on the hands, forearms, or legs sustained when a victim attempts to ward off an attack; their presence corroborates active resistance and a homicidal assault.

Injuries on the arms, hands, or legs consistent with the patient raising their limbs to ward off attack; their presence in an MLC corroborates active resistance and homicidal assault.

A stab wound in which both ends of the surface entry wound are sharply tapered, indicating a double-edged blade (such as a dagger); distinguished from a single-taper wound (one tapered, one squared end) indicating a single-edged knife.

A legal principle holding that the tortfeasor/assailant is liable for the full extent of the victim's injuries including complications attributable to the victim's pre-existing vulnerabilities; the assailant 'takes the victim as they find them.'

A blood collection between the skull and the dura mater, typically resulting from rupture of the middle meningeal artery following temporal bone fracture; classically associated with a lucid interval.

A wound claimed by an individual as resulting from an external assault but actually self-inflicted or produced post-mortem; typically superficial, accessible, and lacking defence wounds.

A large double-edged axe-like weapon with a broad blade; produces chop wounds with bilateral clean margins but crushing at the base due to mass and force.

A large broad-bladed agricultural chopper common in Punjab and Haryana; a heavy sharp weapon producing chop wounds with severe skeletal damage.

A secondary cause of wound death caused by Clostridium perfringens proliferating in anaerobic devitalised tissue, producing gas and systemic toxins leading to multiorgan failure.

A provisional matrix of new capillaries and fibroblasts that fills an open wound during the proliferative phase of healing; appears as pink, granular, highly vascular tissue.

A more severe category of hurt defined under BNS Section 118, comprising 8 enumerated categories including fracture of bone, permanent loss of sense organs, emasculation, and any hurt endangering life or causing 20+ days of disability.

An abrasion or contusion at the margins of a stab wound entry site, produced when the weapon's hilt guard impacts the skin as the blade is fully plunged; indicates the weapon was inserted to its full depth and allows correlation with hilt dimensions.

A sword cane — a walking stick concealing a sharp blade that can be rapidly drawn; the disguised nature makes it forensically significant in cases where the perpetrator carried the weapon covertly.

Woven bone that replaces the soft callus (approximately 6–12 weeks post-fracture), visible as a well-defined bony bridge across the fracture site on X-ray.

Multiple shallow, tentative incisions at the margin of a main suicidal wound, indicating exploratory cuts made before the fatal attempt.

An injury pattern consistent with an external perpetrator acting against a resisting victim, characterised by multiple wounds, defence wounds, non-accessible wound sites, and evidence of struggle.

Defined under BNS Section 115 as bodily pain, disease, or infirmity caused to any person; the baseline category for physical injury offences under the BNS.

A sharp force injury produced by a sharp-edged weapon where length exceeds depth, with clean margins, no tissue bridges, and free bleeding.

A traditional Sikh curved single-edged blade carried as one of the five Panj Kakars; constitutionally protected for Sikhs; forensically capable of producing incised or stab wounds.

A blunt force injury that tears the skin and underlying tissues, characterised by irregular ragged edges and the presence of tissue bridges spanning the wound gap.

A bamboo or hardwood staff used as a blunt weapon, producing contusions, lacerations (stellate over scalp), and long-bone fractures; one of the most common assault weapons in India.

A period of normal consciousness between an initial head injury and subsequent deterioration, characteristic of extradural haemorrhage from middle meningeal artery rupture.

A formal document prepared by a registered medical practitioner recording the examination findings, wound characteristics, and medico-legal opinion of an injured person; admissible as evidence in court.

A bruise whose shape reproduces the outline of the causative object, providing direct evidence about the weapon used.

An injury inflicted at or around the time of death, showing transitional vital reaction features between clearly ante-mortem and clearly post-mortem; requires careful histological interpretation.

Polymorphonuclear neutrophil infiltration at a wound margin, the earliest histological vital reaction marker, appearing within 30 minutes of an ante-mortem injury.

An injury inflicted after death, characterised by absence of vital reaction — no active bleeding, no inflammatory cellular infiltrate, pale bloodless wound floor.

Death occurring as a direct immediate consequence of the wound — including haemorrhage, injury to a vital organ, air embolism, or traumatic shock.

Wound healing by direct approximation of clean wound edges, with minimal scar formation; typical of sutured surgical wounds or narrow incised wounds.

The final phase of wound healing (3 weeks to 2 years) during which type III collagen is replaced by type I collagen, tensile strength increases, and scar matures from red and raised to pale and flat.

A rapid method for estimating the percentage of body surface area (BSA) affected by burns: each arm 9%, head 9%, anterior trunk 18%, posterior trunk 18%, each leg 18%, perineum 1%; total = 100%.

Death resulting from a complication arising after the initial wound — including septicaemia, tetanus, gas gangrene, pulmonary embolism, or renal failure — where the original wound is still the legally attributable cause.

Wound healing by granulation tissue formation from the base and edges of an open wound where edges cannot be approximated; slower, producing a larger scar.

The fibrocartilaginous tissue that bridges a fracture gap in the early repair phase (approximately 2–6 weeks), detectable radiologically as periosteal new bone formation.

Mnemonic for the five required elements of medico-legal wound description: Site, Size, Shape, Surroundings, and Margins/depth.

A sharp force injury produced by a sharp-pointed weapon where depth exceeds length; the entry wound reflects the weapon's cross-sectional geometry.

An injury self-inflicted with intent to cause death or serious harm, characterised by accessible site, hesitation marks, single committed wound, and absence of defence wounds.

Punctate abrasions caused by unburnt gunpowder particles embedding in the skin at intermediate firing range (30–90 cm), a secondary firearm wound feature that helps estimate the range of firing.

A secondary cause of wound death caused by Clostridium tetani toxin (tetanospasmin) in contaminated wounds; clinically characterised by trismus, opisthotonus, and autonomic instability.

Strands of connective tissue, nerve fibres, and small blood vessels that span a wound gap in lacerations, indicating the tissue was torn rather than cut cleanly; absent in incised wounds.

The biological response of living tissue to injury — inflammatory cells, haemorrhage — used to distinguish ante-mortem from post-mortem wounds.

A formal medico-legal document prepared by a forensic physician systematically describing a submitted weapon exhibit and giving an opinion on its capacity to produce the injuries documented in the case MLC or post-mortem report.

The reduction in wound surface area driven by myofibroblasts during secondary intention healing; clinically important as excessive contraction leads to scar contracture.