Dithranol: an unusual agent to produce artificial (false) bruise: a case report.

Krishnadutt H Chavali, Harish Dasari

Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh, India. drkhchavali@gmail.com

The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology 2012 Sep

filter terms:

Injuries are simulated by people for various reasons and may be labeled as "false/fictitious/forged." These may be self-inflicted or self-suffered. One such "injury" is an artificial/false bruise that may be produced by applying the juices of various irritant vegetable poisons. However, the present case is of an inmate of jail who used dithranol for producing 20 such artificial bruises on the back of his body. The purpose of such an act was to bring a charge of torture/beating against the jail officials.A good, thorough history taking and detailed and meticulous examination of the affected area, supplemented by relevant investigations and photography by a trained forensic expert, are a must to differentiate the "true" from the "false.

Citation

Krishnadutt H Chavali, Harish Dasari. Dithranol: an unusual agent to produce artificial (false) bruise: a case report. The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology. 2012 Sep;33(3):253-5