METHOD FOR DETERMINING CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES IN CREATING A PENETRATING THORACIC STAB-AND-SLASH WOUND Russian patent published in 2007 - IPC A61B5/103 

FIELD: forensic medicine.

SUBSTANCE: method involves measuring wound depth and knife blade length. Chest skeleton state is additionally evaluated in the vicinity of the wound. Wound depth is compared with knife blade length. Wound and outgoing wound canal are formed as a result of combination of structural specific of sharp things and mechanism of their thrusting and cutting action. Creation of penetrating stab-and-slash wound in a region of frontal chest surface with knife fixed in hand of a stranger has the same injury-causing mechanism as it is the case when stab-and-slash wound is produced due to victim falling on fixed knife blade. Considerable increase in wound canal length is caused by chest and ribs soft tissue deformations occurring in anteroposterior direction. Beside that, thoracic skeleton injuries take place owing to knife grip restrictor or its end face part acting at the moment of deformation. Bone skeleton injuries and wound depth being more than 4 cm longer when compared to knife blade length, conclusions concerning the wound produced as a result of victim falling on the knife blade.

EFFECT: high accuracy in classifying isolated stab-and-slash wounds.