Mechanical Injuries (Blunt, Sharp, Regional Injuries) MCQs

Forensic Medicine · 35 free questions with answers & explanations.

1. A laceration is found on the scalp. On inspection, there are tissue bridges, hair bulbs in the wound edges, and the margins are contused and irregular. Which weapon type is MOST likely responsible?
2. A defence wound is found on the ulnar aspect of the forearm of a homicide victim. In what type of injury are defence wounds on the DORSAL surface of the hands AND on the upper limbs MOST COMMONLY seen?
3. In a case of penetrating stab wound to the chest, the wound track is examined at autopsy. The entry wound shows clean, well-defined margins with a square or rectangular cross-section. This finding is MOST consistent with which type of blade?
4. A laceration is found on the scalp of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. The wound has irregular, abraded, and contused margins, with tissue bridges crossing the depths of the wound. A suspected incised wound on the same victim has clean margins, no bridging, and undermining of the deeper edge. Which statement BEST explains why tissue bridges are present in lacerations but NOT in incised wounds?
5. A 50-year-old man is found dead with multiple stab wounds to the chest. One wound tract in the myocardium is triangular on cross-section of the wall. Which weapon type is MOST consistent with a triangular wound track?
6. A stab wound to the anterior chest wall is measured as 2.5 cm wide with one sharp end, one squared-off end, a depth of 8 cm, and clean-cut margins without bruising. The MOST accurate inference about the weapon is:
7. A 40-year-old is brought in after an assault; examination shows a laceration over the scalp with inverted, bruised edges, bridging tissue strands crossing the floor of the wound, and contamination. The CHARACTERISTIC finding that distinguishes this wound from an incised wound is:
8. A pedestrian is struck by a motor vehicle. At autopsy the pathologist notes patterned tyre-tread abrasions on the right thigh, a 'bumper fracture' of the right tibia at 45 cm from the heel, and contrecoup brain injury. Estimating driver height is NOT the purpose of the bumper height measurement. What is it PRIMARILY used for?
9. A decedent has multiple lacerations on the scalp. On examination, the wound margins show bridging strands of tissue, irregular edges, marginal bruising, and hair crush at the wound base. These features indicate:
10. A 30-year-old is stabbed with a single-edged knife. The entry wound on the anterior chest wall shows one sharp end and one blunt end. The depth of the wound tract is 12 cm while the blade length is 10 cm. This discrepancy is explained by:
11. A 55-year-old pedestrian is brought after a road traffic accident. X-ray shows a 'ring fracture' of the skull base. This fracture pattern results from:
12. A cadaver is brought with a deep incised wound over the anterior neck crossing the midline, with the wound being deepest on the left side, with both walls of the wound vertical and without bridging strands. The most likely hand used by the assailant (who is right-handed and facing the victim) and the nature of the wound is:
13. A contusion showing a pale centre with a surrounding haematoma ring (target or bull's-eye appearance) is termed:
14. In a case of blunt head trauma with an epidural haematoma, the 'lucid interval' — a transient period of consciousness before neurological deterioration — is characteristically associated with rupture of which vessel?
15. 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)?
16. A body shows a cut wound with regular, straight edges, pointed ends, and a longer than deep wound cavity. The subcutaneous tissues show undermining. This is best described as:
17. A self-inflicted stab wound to the chest is found postmortem. The medical examiner notes hesitation cuts — multiple shallow parallel cuts immediately beside and parallel to the fatal wound. This finding:
18. A laceration is distinguished from an incised wound at autopsy by which characteristic feature?
19. A defence wound is most commonly found on the:
20. A penetrating stab wound to the chest is examined at autopsy. The wound track is triangular with one sharp angle and one V-shaped squared-off angle. This wound morphology is MOST consistent with a stab from:
21. Ring fractures of the base of skull are characterised by a circular fracture line surrounding the foramen magnum. They are MOST commonly caused by:
22. A body shows a patterned abrasion on the scalp in the shape of a trefoil. This type of injury is BEST classified as:
23. In stab wounds caused by a single-edged knife, the wound typically shows one sharp angle and one blunt angle (notched end). The feature that indicates the stabbing was done with DOWNWARD FORCE using a single-edged blade held with the edge upwards is:
24. A 'defence wound' in a victim of knife attack is MOST likely found at which location, and what does its pattern indicate?
25. In a case of alleged suicidal incised wound to the wrist, which feature at autopsy is MOST consistent with homicide rather than self-infliction?
26. A 28-year-old man is brought to the emergency department with a wound on his forearm showing irregular, abraded, and contused margins, with hair bulbs visible at the base of the wound. The wound was caused by:
27. In which of the following injuries is the contrecoup injury characteristically more severe than the coup injury?
28. A defence wound is characteristically seen on which surface of the upper limb when a victim tries to ward off blows from a knife-wielding assailant?
29. A factory worker sustains an avulsion injury where a large flap of skin is peeled back. The tissue viability of an avulsed flap is BEST when:
30. Which of the following features BEST differentiates an entrance gunshot wound from an exit gunshot wound in a high-velocity rifle injury?
31. A wound with bruised and irregular margins, tissue bridging across the wound cavity, and no clean cut edges is best described as:
32. A defence wound in a victim of sharp weapon attack is characteristically found on:
33. Hesitation cuts in a case of suicidal incised wounds are characteristically:
34. In a stab wound from a single-edged knife, the wound shows:
35. A contre-coup injury of the brain is produced when: