Monday 7 November 2011

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:The more vascular area and the healthier the person, the more rapid will be the healing of bruise

• A bruise or contusion heals by destruction and removal of the extravasated blood.
• The more vascular the area, the smaller the contusion, and the healthier the individual, the more rapid will be the healing. The red cells disintegrate by hemolysis and the hemoglobin is broken down into hemosiderin, hemotodin and bilirubin by the action of enzymes.
• The color change is very variable, starts at the periphery and extends inwards to the center. The duration of bruise is determined by its color changes which is fresh: Red Few hours to 3 days: Blue 4th day: Bluish black to brown 5 to 6 days: Greenish, 7 to 12 days: Yellow and it the color becomes normal in approximately 2 weeks. But when the bruising is extensive and deeply situated the color takes a longer time to appear externally.
• It is difficult to estimate the exact age of a bruise with any degree of certainty. The subconjunctival ecchymosis does not undergo the usual color changes. They are at first bright red and then yellow before disappearing. In old people, healing of bruises is very slow.
• A bruise sustained at the time of carbon monoxide poisoning is likely to have a bright red color.

(Contributed by Dr Sudhir Gupta)

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