At autopsy, a broad graze abrasion is present on the flank of a pedestrian. The epidermis is seen heaped up and curled at one end of the abrasion. This finding indicates:

• A That the injury is more than one week old
• B That the injury was inflicted after death
• C That the causative object had a serrated edge
• D The direction from which the force was applied ✓

Explanation

In a grazing or brush abrasion, the superficial layers of skin are scraped away progressively, and the torn epidermal tags pile up at the terminal end of the scrape. This heaping marks the end point of movement and therefore indicates the direction of the applied force. Serrated edges produce patterned scratches, postmortem abrasions lack vital reaction but still show heaped tags, and an abrasion of this age would show scabbing.

Reference: Knight's Forensic Pathology, 4th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.