The wounds heal by suppuration.
_Punctured wounds_ come intermediate between incised and lacerated. They
are greater in depth than in length, being caused by sword or rapier
thrusts. They cause little haemorrhage externally, but death may be due
to internal haemorrhage. They may be complicated by (1) the introduction
of septic material adhering to the instrument; (2) the entrance of
foreign bodies which lodge in the wound, not only carrying in septic
matter, but acting as mechanical irritants; (3) injury to deeper parts,
which may at the time be difficult to detect.
An apparently _incised wound_ may be produced by a hard, blunt weapon
over a bone--_e.g._, shin or cranium. It is often difficult to
distinguish between a wound of the scalp inflicted with a knife and one
made by a blow with a stick. A puncture with a sharp-edged, pointed
knife leaves a fusiform or spindle-shaped wound. A wound from a blow
with a stick might be of this character, or it might present a jagged,
swollen appearance at the margin, with much contusion of the surrounding
tissues. If the wound is seen soon after it is inflicted, examination
with a lens may disclose irregularities of the margins, or little
bridges of connective tissue or vessels running across the wound, and
so be inconsistent with its production by a cutting instrument.
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