RT Book, Section A1 Smock, William S. A1 Stack, Lawrence B. A2 Knoop, Kevin J. A2 Stack, Lawrence B. A2 Storrow, Alan B. A2 Thurman, R. Jason SR Print(0) ID 1181057277 T1 Blunt-Force Pattern Injuries T2 The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e YR 2021 FD 2021 PB McGraw-Hill PP New York, NY SN 9781260134940 LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1181057277 RD 2024/03/28 AB The most common blunt force injury is the contusion (Fig. 19.26). The pattern contusion is one that helps identify the causative weapon. A blow from a linear object leaves a contusion that is characterized by a set of parallel lines separated by an area of central clearing (Fig. 19.27). The blood underlying the striking object is forcibly displaced to the sides, which accounts for the pattern’s appearance. Pattern injuries that an emergency physician should recognize include those caused by the hand (slap marks [Fig. 19.27], fingertip contusions [Fig. 19.28], grab marks, ligature marks [Fig. 19.30], fingernail abrasions), those caused by solid objects (baseball bat, tire iron, 2 by 4, belt, shoe, comb), and bite marks.