Diagnostic value of “superficial” stab wounds in forensic practice

Although detailed descriptions of important characteristics of stab wounds can be found in textbooks of forensic medical pathology, this case focuses attention on a relatively exceptional type of such wounds: the “superficial” stab wound. The “superficial” stab wound may be useful for considering and identifying the stabbing weapon which created the wounds; it is suggested a superficial stab wound has a shallow wound cavity which runs almost parallel to the surface of the body, thus showing that the incised angle of the stabbing weapon is acute to the body surface and that additionally its wound cavity shape may reflect the original profile of the weapon.