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# Abrasions

- Finding

An abrasion is loss of the surface layer of the skin from friction or pressure by an object; it can show the direction of force and the object's shape.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Abrasion = loss of epidermis from friction or pressure; it bleeds little.
- Shreds of epidermis pile up at the far end of the movement: they show the direction of force.
- Patterned abrasions can reproduce the object: nails, cords, soles, tyres.
- A small abrasion on the neck, face or thighs may be the only trace of an assault.

On this page

- The basics Key points
- What it is
- How to tell it apart
- How to recognise it
- How it forms
- Step by step
- Next step: what to do and document
- Common mistakes
- Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- Study Test yourself

- Connections Connections

## What it is

An abrasion (excoriación) is the most superficial blunt-force injury: the epidermis is lost, leaving a bare surface that bleeds little. Clinically it is minor, but forensically it says a lot: it proves contact, shows that the object moved across the skin at an angle, and sometimes leaves the imprint of the object (a sole, a cord, a fingernail). That is why it is described with the same care as a serious wound.

## How to tell it apart

- Versus a bruise: in an abrasion the epidermis is missing; in a bruise the skin is intact and the blood lies beneath.
- Versus a laceration: an abrasion does not go through the full thickness of the skin.
- Postmortem abrasion: yellow-brown, parchment-like, with no reaction around it (see vital reaction).
- Everyday or self-inflicted scrapes can look like assault abrasions: do not conclude from shape alone.

## How to recognise it

- An area of skin without epidermis, red and moist at first; a scab forms later.
- Scratch: linear and narrow (nails, points).
- Graze (sliding or brush abrasion): broad, with parallel striations in the direction of movement.
- Pressure or imprint abrasion: reproduces the shape of the object pressed on the skin.

## How it forms

- An object rubs the skin at an angle, with relative movement and friction, and removes the epidermis.
- In an imprint, perpendicular pressure crushes the epidermis against the object and copies its relief.
- The direction of rubbing leaves the detached skin heaped up at the far end.

## Step by step

- Locate each abrasion against fixed anatomical landmarks and measure it in two dimensions.
- Describe shape, colour, scab and any associated bruise.
- Find the end where epidermis piles up to state the direction of force.
- Look for and keep debris (soil, glass, fibres, hairs) before cleaning.
- Photograph with a scale before any wound care.

## Next step: what to do and document

- Before cleaning, photograph with a scale and collect visible debris; package and label it with chain of custody.
- Record location, size, shape, likely direction of force and any pattern.
- On the neck, also examine the eyes, mucosa and voice, and record what the patient says (see strangulation).
- If the injuries do not match the account, in a child, an older adult or a victim of violence, start the protection pathway and the mandatory notifications.

## Common mistakes

- Calling an abrasion on the neck of an intimate-partner violence victim "a trivial graze".
- Cleaning or dressing before photographing and collecting debris.
- Stating the manner (assault, accident) from the shape of the abrasion alone.
- Mistaking a parchment-like postmortem abrasion for an injury in life.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## How is the direction of force worked out in a sliding abrasion?

From where the shreds of epidermis collect: they are heaped up at the far end of the movement.

## What is a patterned or imprint abrasion?

An abrasion that reproduces the shape of the object pressed on the skin, such as a sole, a cord or a tyre; it helps identify the object.

## What does an abrasion made after death look like?

Yellow-brown, dry and parchment-like, with no sign of vital reaction around it.

## What should be done before cleaning an abrasion in a case with legal interest?

Photograph it with a scale, measure it, locate it and collect visible debris with chain of custody.

[Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/forensic-medicine/abrasions/)

## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [Mandatory reporting: public health, violence and abuse](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/mandatory-reporting-public-health-violence-and-abuse/)
- [Mechanical and electrical injury: abrasion, contusion, laceration, wounds](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/mechanical-and-electrical-injury-abrasion-contusion-laceration-wounds/)

## Connections

## Related 5

- [Bruises and haematomas: recognising them, and why colour cannot date them](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/bruises-and-haematomas-recognising-them-and-why-colour-cannot-date-them/)
- [Classifying mechanical injuries](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/classifying-mechanical-injuries/)
- [Vital reaction: was the wound made in life?](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/vital-reaction-was-the-wound-made-in-life/)
- [Manual strangulation (throttling)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/manual-strangulation/)
- [Chain of custody (cadena de custodia) in the hospital or rural post](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/chain-of-custody-in-the-hospital-or-rural-post/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Intimate partner and sexual violence (mental-health care)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/intimate-partner-and-sexual-violence/)
- [Child maltreatment (physical abuse, abusive head trauma, neglect)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/child-maltreatment/)

[← All of forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/)

Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority.

Sources: [Trauma Forensics in Blunt and Sharp Force Injuries](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9802595/) (Journal of the West African College of Surgeons (PMC), 2022); [Blunt Force Trauma (StatPearls)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470338/) (NCBI Bookshelf, StatPearls Publishing, 2023).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/abrasions/