Wound Identification

Wound Identification
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Blunt and Sharp Traumas
Injuries occur out of different things, but most of all they are caused by objects that either hit the body with or without force. Injuries can be as a result of sharp or blunt objects to be classified as blunt force injuries and sharp force injuries. Sharp force injuries are known for well-defined traumatic separation of tissues and are characterized into stab wounds, incised wounds and chop wounds (Forensic Autopsy of Sharp Force Injuries, 2017). Blunt force trauma occurs when an object hits or strikes a part of the body. The two types of injuries have similarities and differences in terms of how they occur and what impact they cause to the body. The injuries are similar in that they are caused by weapons, they can occur in any part of the body, they can cause bleeding and they can possibly tear one’s tissues.
The differences, however, are quite many compared to the similarities in that: blunt injuries are caused by blunt force objects whereas sharp force injuries are caused by sharp objects, blunt injuries occurs upon the object striking the surface whereas sharp force injuries occur pointedly, the blunt is wide whereas sharp is deeper, and the sharp is likely to cause too much bleeding in the blunt where the bleeding is minimal, but the blunt trauma causes either change in the skin color/swelling/bruising/tenderness or abrasions. Blunt trauma examples include car accidents, punches, kicks, bike accidents, and sports collisions whereas sharp traumas include stabs and major accidents (Blunt Force Trauma: Definition, Symptoms & Examples | Study.

com. (n.d.)). Sharp traumas can get tragic in that they can cause death compared to the minor injuries that blunt traumas are likely to cause. It is therefore easy to distinguish between sharp force injuries and blunt force injuries.

Thermal Injuries
Thermal injuries are burns that occur on the skin or other tissues as a result of any external heat source that comprises electrical contact, chemicals, radiation, radiant heat, or fire. Thermal injuries can be identified and distinguished from other injuries. They cause injuries to several layers of the skin and the severe the injury, the more the number of layers of the skin affected. There are different types of burns that are characterized into three: full thickness, partial thickness, and superficial burn (Forensic Pathology of Thermal Injuries, 2017). The numerous types have different ways of being identified depending on the number of skin layers damaged. Superficial burns occur on the outermost layer of the skin mostly occurring from radiation. The symptoms include red areas that are painful, which when touched turns white, moist and no blisters.
Partial thickness can be considered to be a deep burn since some parts of the second skin are involved, some part of the dermis and the epidermis. The symptoms include a red area that is painful, which when touched turns white, moist, hairs, blisters and mottling is also present. It may also be so deep that it ruins the nerve ending of the skin thus losing the pain. The most severe burn is full thickness burn that comprises tiny sweat glands, hair follicles, the nerve ending and both layers of the skin. All are destroyed when this burn occurs. This is easily identified since it is painless, no sensation when touched, pearly white, dry and may appear leather like and charred. Thus burns can be identified in relation to their severity to the skin of a person.
References
Blunt Force Trauma: Definition, Symptoms & Examples | Study.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/blunt-force-trauma-definition-symptoms-examples.html
Forensic Autopsy of Sharp Force Injuries: Overview, Definitions, Scene Findings. (2017, May 2). Retrieved from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1680082-overview
Forensic Pathology of Thermal Injuries: Overview, Fire-Related Deaths, Thermal Injury Terminology. (2017, January 7). Retrieved from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1975728-overview