ON THE POSSIBILITY OF DETECTING MICROFRAGMENTS OF GLASS IN SCAR TISSUES

Abstract

Relevance. The identification of the traumatic tool in case of damage caused by sharp objects has always been one of the main issues of interest to the investigating authorities. Currently, forensic medicine has the ability to determine a specific acute traumatic object, including glass fragments. However, in the literature available to us, we did not find information about the possibility of detecting microfragments of glass in the scar. Case description from practice. The man suffered a chest wound. He was taken to the hospital, where the wound was sutured. According to the description of the wound in the medical records, it was determined that the wound was a stab wound and could have been caused by a knife. The accused categorically denied inflicting a knife wound on this person and argued that the victim was in a state of severe alcoholic intoxication and fell repeatedly, including on a sideboard, glass from which was found during an inspection of the scene. Four months later, the victim died from alcohol poisoning. A forensic medical examination was carried out to resolve the issue of the possibility of injury from glass fragments from the sideboard. A scar was identified on the victim's chest. Microparticles were found in the scar tissue, the characteristics of which led to the conclusion that they are microfragments of colorless, transparent glass. Conclusion. The methods used to determine the presence of glass microfragments in scar tissue do not require complex technical equipment and are common in wide expert practice; their use has confirmed the possibility of detecting glass microfragments not only in soft tissues along the wound channel, but also after healing of the wound, in an already formed scar.