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# Lacerations: blunt-force tears of the skin

- Finding

A laceration is a tear of the skin from a blow or stretching; it has irregular edges, surrounding bruising and tissue bridges.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Irregular, abraded or bruised edges; irregular base.
- Tissue bridges in the base: the sign that separates it from an incised wound.
- Over bony surfaces (scalp, eyebrow) it may look straight, like a cut.
- Hair follicles and hairs at the edges are crushed, not cut.

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

A laceration (herida contusa) is a tear of the skin and tissues caused by a blunt object: a blow, a fall, a vehicle impact. Unlike an incised wound, the tissue is not divided by an edge but torn apart. That is why its edges are irregular and bruised, and tissue bridges (vessels, nerves, fibres) that did not break remain in its base. Over bone (scalp, eyebrow, chin) it can be almost straight and look like a cut: confusing the two is a classic mistake with legal consequences.

## How to tell it apart

- Versus an incised wound: the incised wound has clean edges, no bruising and no tissue bridges.
- Versus a chop wound: a chop wound combines cut edges with bruising and bone injury.
- A hand lens helps to see bruised edges when the wound looks like a cut.
- The shape may suggest the object (the face of a hammer, a corner) but rarely identifies it.

## How to recognise it

- A break in the skin with irregular edges, often with abrasion or bruising around it.
- Tissue bridges crossing from one edge to the other in the depth.
- Irregular base, with crushed tissue.
- Over bone: a linear or stellate wound that can mimic an incised wound.

## How it forms

- A direct blow crushes the skin against a hard surface (bone) until it splits.
- Stretching or traction beyond the skin's elasticity.
- Vessels and nerves, which are more elastic, resist and remain as bridges.

## Step by step

- Before suturing, photograph with a scale and describe the edges, base and tissue bridges.
- Measure the length and estimated depth; locate it against anatomical landmarks.
- Look for associated injuries: fractures, intracranial or visceral injury.
- Collect foreign bodies and debris with chain of custody.
- Photograph again after treatment and at follow-up.

## Next step: what to do and document

- Write "laceration" only if you see bruised edges and tissue bridges; if in doubt, describe what you see without a label.
- On the scalp, rule out fracture and intracranial injury as the clinical picture requires.
- Photograph before and after suturing; record the number of sutures and the course.
- Keep foreign bodies and clothing with chain of custody and record who received them.

## Common mistakes

- Calling a straight scalp laceration an "incised wound".
- Suturing without first documenting the edges and base.
- Not looking for a fracture or internal injury beneath a scalp laceration.
- Using the word "cut" for any wound.

## Test yourself

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

## Which finding in the base of a wound shows it was caused by a blunt object?

Tissue bridges (vessels, nerves, fibres) crossing from one edge to the other: they are absent in incised wounds.

## Why can a scalp laceration look like an incised wound?

Because the skin is crushed against bone and splits in a straight line; the bruised edges and tissue bridges give it away.

## What is seen in the hairs at the edges of a laceration?

Crushed or pulled hairs and follicles, not cleanly cut ones.

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## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [Healing of skin wounds: first and second intention](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/healing-of-skin-wounds-first-and-second-intention/)
- [Mechanical and electrical injury: abrasion, contusion, laceration, wounds](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/mechanical-and-electrical-injury-abrasion-contusion-laceration-wounds/)

## Connections

## Related 4

- [Incised wounds](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/incised-wounds/)
- [Abrasions](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/abrasions/)
- [Chop wounds](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/chop-wounds/)
- [Classifying mechanical injuries](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/classifying-mechanical-injuries/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Traumatic brain injury](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/)
- [Major trauma (polytrauma): ATLS primary survey](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/major-trauma-atls-primary-survey/)

[← 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/lacerations-blunt-force-tears-of-the-skin/