Understanding Knife Wound Characteristics: A Forensic Overview

Knives can cause slash, stab, and incised wounds. Forensic analysts try to determine information such as type of attack and type and origin of blade, which may help identify the attacker.

Slashing

• Slash wounds by knives have greater length across the skin than depth. Generally, they have less severity than stabbing and incised wounds, unless they injure major blood vessels.

Incised Wounds

• Incised, or sharp cut-like wounds by knives, have edges that vary according to the cutting edge of the blade. A fine, sharp blade leaves regular margins, whereas a thick, blunt blade may cause more crushing.

Definition of Stab Wound

• A stab wound from a knife or other sharp object has greater depth than length and can damage vital organs in the abdomen and chest. The compressibility of the tissue can result in depth longer than the length of the blade. Tissue contracting around the wound can also obscure size of blade.

Force Required in Stabbing

• Once a blade penetrates clothing and skin, it requires little additional force to go deeper. Important factors to consider include sharpness of the blade tip and speed of the stabbing action.

Defense Wounds

• A victim of can suffer multiple incisions while trying to ward off the knife. These defense wounds typically occur on the palms and hands.