Welt (bruise)

A welt is a bloodshot stripe on the skin. They are haematoma, a special form of a bruise.

Photograph of an arm with four raised red lines
Welts on the hand and forearm

Welts occur when blunt force is applied to the body with elongated objects without sharp edges. Like other haematomas, welts change their colors as they heal, which usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. The colors include purplish black, reddish blue, brown or yellowish green. That makes it possible to determine their approximate age.[1]

A special form of welts—when the impact tool is not flat—are double welts. They occur after blows with stick-like, long objects, such as a cane for caning, a riding crop or a garden hose. The energy of the striking tool hitting the skin forces the tissue fluid or tissue matrix to the outside of the instrument. This leaves a rather anaemic, brighter area of skin, so the area of impact of the striking tool on the skin is usually free of injury.[2] However, capillary vessels located under the skin at the edges of the impacting object rupture, resulting in two parallel, striated skin lacerations. Such double straps in a child indicate abuse and require clarification.[3][4][5]

References
  1. Bruises and Blood Spots Under the Skin
  2. Bleich S. (Editor): Ökologisches Stoffgebiet; F. K. Schattauer Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2000, p. 332, ISBN 3-7945-2035-1
  3. Jacobi G, Dettmeyer R, Banaschak S, Brosig B, Herrmann B. Child abuse and neglect: diagnosis and management. Dtsch Ärztebl Int. 2010;107(13):231-240. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2010.0231
  4. Birngruber C.G., Lasczkowski G., Dettmeyer R.B. (2020) Kindesmisshandlung (engl.: Child abuse). In: Forensische Verletzungskunde. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. , browsed 24th Feb. 2022
  5. M. Grassberger, H. Schmid, A. Koenig: Toodesermittlung – Befundaufnahme & Spurensicherung – Ein praktischer Leitfaden für Polizei, Juristen und Ärzte; Springer-Verlag Wien/New York; ISBN 978-3-211-79959-8
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