detailed explanation of Veterolegal wounds

Veterolegal wounds

1. VETEROLEGAL WOUNDS
Dr. J. SELVARAJ, Ph.D., DICVP.,
Professor and Head, Dept of Veterinary Pathology,
VCRI, Orathanadu.
Mobile: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

2. Wound examination
•Observe keenly
•Write the description in
depth, completely and
clearly
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3. Trauma
•Forcible injury
e.g. During control/ restraining, shipping or transport of
animal.
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Transport injuryRestraining injury

4. WOUND
•Break in the continuity of tissues
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5. WOUNDS
ANTEMORTEM WOUNDS POSTMORTEM WOUNDS
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Have inflammatory reaction –congestion,
Oedema, exudate-haemorrhage and
inflammatory cell infiltration
Border –no inflammatory reaction
(Congestion, oedema, exudate-haemorrhage
and inflammatory cell infiltration)

6. CONTUSION / BRUISES
•Simple injuries produced by blunt
weapons without loss of continuity
of the skin.
•The weapons will leave their out-
line on the bruise.
•Seldom fatal, unless accompanied
by rupture of an internal organ or
by extensive crushing of the tissue.
•Arise from rupture of blood vessel
with disintegration of extravasated
blood.
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7. CONCUSSION
•Mild traumatic brain injury -head
injury that temporarily affects brain
functioning.
•Symptoms:Loss of consciousness,
memory loss, headaches, difficulty
with thinking, concentration or
balance, nausea,blurred vision,
sleep disturbances and mood
changes.
•Any of these symptoms may begin
immediately, or appear days after
the injury.
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8. SCRATCHES / ABRASIONS
•Abrasions: Abrasions are circumscribed areas
where epithelium has been removed by injury and
it may indicate the direction of force.
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9. Erosions
•Partial loss of surface
epithelium on skin or
mucosal surface
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10. ULCER
•Holes or breakson skin or
mucosal surface
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11. LACERATED WOUND
•The edges of the wound are torn, irregular,
jagged, often swollen and contused.
•Full thickness of skin is having gap
•Caused by tearing of tissues including skin
•Caused by barbed wires, the claws or horns
of animals and hard surfaces like roads.
•Do not generally correspond in size or shape
of the weapon producing them.
•Bruisingof the underlying and surrounding
tissues.
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12. STAB WOUND
•Stab wounds are deeper
than longer
•produced by sharp edged
instrument
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DOG HEAD

13. INCISED WOUND / CUT WOUND
•Incised wounds/cuts: Produced by sharp edged
instrument
•They are longer than deep.
•At the point of commencement the wound is deeper
and it gradually becomes shallower.
•The edges of the wound are smooth, even, clear cut
and well defined, with a spindle shaped “gapping” due
to retraction of tissues and the skin.
•Moderate to severe haemorrhage may occur if main
artery has been cut.
•Produced by a sharp cutting instrument or weapon,
such as a knife, razor, sword, etc.
•Length of the incised wound has no relation to the
length of the cutting edge of the weapon.
•While describing this type of wound, it is necessary to
record its direction.
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14. PUNCTURED / PENETRATING WOUND
•Caused by pointed bodies by piercing or stabbing
-knife, bayonet, spear, dagger, arrow, etc.
•The external opening is small but the depth may
be greater.
•The external haemorrhage may be less but the
internal haemorrhage may be profuse, causing
death.
•The object used may penetrate into tissue or may
enter body cavities.
•The depth of the punctured wound has to be
noted as it may give a clue to the length of the
weapon used.
•In gun shot wounds, the low velocity blunt
surfaced bullet cause penetrating wound.
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15. PERORATED WOUND
•Here the injury traverses the body
•The exit wound is larger than the entry wound
•High velocity round nosed bullets cause
perforated wound
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16. GUN SHOT / FIREARM WOUNDS
•Produced by various kinds of firearms: Pistol -
bullets
•The appearance of this type of wound vary
depending on kind of fire arm used.
•Bullet wound: Hitting at 90°by firearms produce
uniform margins of abrasion.
•Fire arms generally produce two wounds or
apertures viz, one at the point of entrance and the
other at the point of exit of the projectile.
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17. 9/16/2020 Dr. J.S 17
British Blue Cross Male Aged 15 months 27 days—3 Shots (a) Head 8 shot placement nominal numbering for
descriptive purposes. Crossed lines demonstrating ‘ideal’ shot position. (b) Left sagittalsection. Shot A and
B, trocardemonstrating tracts. (c) Left sagittalsection, brain removed. Shot A and B, demonstrating wound
tracts and bone shards (circled). (d) Right sagittalsection demonstrating haemorrhagic tract left by
penetrating captive bolt.

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LimousinCross Heifer Aged 22 months 12 days—3 Shots (a) Shot numbering for descriptive
purposes. Shot A denoting most rostralposition and C the most caudal placement of shots. (b)
Angle of shot A replicated by 8 mm trocar. (c) Inferred Shot A position at the level of the frontal
sinus and passed into the posterior middle nasal concha. (Left sagittalsection). (d) Shot position
B Left sagittalsection.

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Bull—4 Shots (a)Head 4 shot placement nominal numbering for descriptive purposes. (b) Head
4. Assymetryof head due to anatomical deformity. (c) Fibrous material covering the cranium, up
to 5mm thick in areas. (d) Right sagittalsection. Shot 1 pathway denoted by dotted lines. (f)
Right sagittalsection Shot positions 2 and 3 pathways denoted by dotted lines. (g) Left sagittal
section. Shot 4 pathway denoted by dotted lines.

20. GUN SHOT WOUNDS
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Entrance wound created by gun shots

21. GUN SHOT / FIREARM WOUNDS
ENTRANCE WOUNDS:
•The entrance would is smaller than exit wound.
•The entrance wound will depend on the distance of
the body from which the weapon was fired.
•It will be more or less circular if the weapon is fired
from close and the area will be blackened by smoke
and tattooed with unburntgrains of gunpowder.
•When a bullet strikes at right angles to the surface,
the entrance wound will be usually circular and
smaller than the bullet.
•When a bullet strikes obliquely, the entrance
wound will be oval.
•When the velocity of bullet is very low, the entrance
wound will be a slit-like hole.
•No blackening is found, if the weapon is fired from
a distance of more than four feet.
•When a wound of entrance is seen but not the
wound of exit, it means that a bullet is lodged in the
body. It should be extracted and forwarded to the
investigating officer in a sealed envelope,
containing its description in the veterinary officer’s
handwriting as it forms an evidence in the court of
law.
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23. GUN SHOT / FIREARM WOUNDS
EXIT WOUNDS
•Exit wounds are irregular and
lacerated.
•These are always free from signs of
burning, blackening or tattooing from
powder.
•They are from within outwards and are
bigger than the bullet.
•If the bullet passes through a bone, it
shows a clean-cut hole at the entrance
and an excavated cone-shaped hole at
the exit.
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24. BLAST INJURY
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•Blast injury: Force of
compression waves
against surfaces
followed by a wave of
reduced pressure. It
can rupture muscles/
viscera.

25. CRUSHING INJURY
•Compression: Compression
injury is produced as a result of
force applied slowly e.g.
During parturition, overlay in
piglets
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26. INTENTIONAL INJURY
•The term "intentional" is used
to refer to injuries resulting
from purposeful human action,
whether directed at oneself or
others.
•Intentional injuries include self
inflicted and interpersonal acts
of violence intended to cause
harm.
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27. Sharp Force Injuries
•Determine organs and structures
involved
•locate the wound in anatomic
region
•estimate direction of stab wound
tracks
•measure wound size (Length,
breadth)
•estimate depth of wound
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Wire cut wound in cow

28. CRITERIA TO DETEMINE THE AGE OF WOUND
•Time of injury may be quite different from the time of
death,
•Gross evaluation
•Histology is used to confirm
•Acute wounds –hemorrhage, fibrin, hemostasis: 0–8 h
old.
•Subacutewounds -hemorrhage, fibrin, tissue disruption,
and +/− necrosis with neutrophilsappearing with variable
numbers of macrophages: 16–36 h old.
•Chronic wounds -granulation tissue , residual scar.:3–7
days and over 2 weeks depending on any residual presence
of the acute/subacuteprocess.
•Complicating factors –autolysis immersed in water-blood
leech away from the wound making it appear to have been
postmortem -Exsanguinationmay occur in the event of a
wound to a vital organ or major vessel.
•When multiple wounds -lack of blood around many of the
wounds;
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Fresh wounds on the dogs
body

29. Ageing of wound
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Day 0 Day 3 Day 43
Day 31

30. REFERENCES
•VCI manual for PME
•Veterinary forensics
•Veterinary Jurisprudence
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