In stab wounds, which morphological feature of the wound best determines whether the weapon had ONE sharp edge (single-edged knife) or TWO sharp edges (double-edged dagger)?

• A Total length of the skin wound relative to blade width
• B Presence or absence of bridging tissue strands within the wound track
• C Depth of the wound track relative to the blade length
• D Configuration of the wound ends — one blunt/squared end vs both ends pointed/sharp ✓

Explanation

The wound end morphology is the key diagnostic feature for determining blade type in stab wounds: a single-edged weapon produces one sharp (clean, pointed, acute-angled) wound end and one blunt (squared-off, notched, or 'fish-tail') wound end from the blunt spine; a double-edged weapon (dagger) produces two sharp, clean, pointed wound ends at both extremities. Wound length can indicate blade width; depth can indicate blade length; but end configuration specifically identifies edge count. Bridging strands are seen in lacerations (blunt trauma) not incised stab wounds.

Reference: The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Narayan Reddy), 34th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.