Pattern of Scalp Injuries and its Correlation with Injuries to Skull and Brain amongst Autopsies Conducted at a Tertiary Care Centre

The study of “Pattern of scalp injuries amongst autopsies” was carried out at the Department of Forensic Medicine in a tertiary care centre over a period of 18 months with the Aim to study the pattern of scalp injuries and to correlate them with injuries to skull and brain and with age and sex.

A total of 181 cases fulfilled the criteria, most vulnerable age group was 21–30 years (30.4%); males (84.5%) outnumbered females; 116 cases (64.1%) were due to RTA, 31 cases (17.1%) due to fall, 19 (10.5%) and 10 cases (5.5%) were due to railway injury and assault, respectively. External injury to the scalp was present in 158 cases (87.3%) only and laceration was the most common type, accounting for 70 cases (38.7%), followed by abrasions and contusions, each in 39 cases (21.5%). Among the lacerations, split laceration was the commonest and was more commonly seen over bony prominences in parietal and frontal regions. Comminuted fracture of calvaria was commonest, accounting for 64 cases (35.4%), followed by fissured/linear fracture, 55 cases (30.4%).

The common intracranial haemorrhage in the present study was combination of subdural and subarachnoid haemorrhage, 145 cases (80.1%), and Brain contusion, 81 cases (44.7%), was the commonest injury to brain. Of the 135 cases with fractures, temporal bone in 29 cases (21.4%) and middle cranial fossa in 17 cases (12.5%) were the commonest sites involved. Least involved area was the occipital bone, 13 cases (9.6%).

Most of the abrasions on scalp had corresponding fissured/linear fractures (59%) and most of the lacerations had corresponding comminuted fractures (52.8%) of calvaria. Correlation of injuries with age and sex had no significance. Thus this study emphasizes that autopsy is the gold standard in observing the various lesions amongst fatal cases and form a very vital cog in medico legal cases for the administration of justice.