Puncture wounds caused by glass mistaken for with stab wounds with a knife

Three cases are presented where fatal puncture wounds caused by broken glas s were very similar to stab wounds inflicted by a knife with a single-edged blade. Thus, all three cases caused a murder investigation to be initiated . It could only be determined that these wounds had been caused by glass af ter a detailed forensic autopsy. In two of the three cases, the only eviden ce for this was the identification of glass fragments in the wounds. The im portance of X-ray examinations is underlined because modern glass in common use is radiopaque. Glass fragments lodged in the wounds can reduce the los s of blood and thus, prolong the capacity to act despite severe injuries. ( C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.