Question:medium
Signature fracture refers to?
Signature fracture refers to?
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The fracture that carries the imprint or shape of the weapon used.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Depressed skull fracture
- Suture displacement fracture
- Contrecoup injury
- Fracture at the foramen magnum
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The term signature fracture is best understood from how it is produced. When the skull is hit by an object that has a small, well-defined striking face and substantial weight, the energy is delivered over a tiny area. Instead of spreading, the force punches the bone inward at that spot.
The result is a localised depression of the cranial vault whose margins mirror the contour of the striking surface, so the fracture literally bears the mark or signature of the weapon. A square-headed hammer leaves a square defect, the end of a pipe leaves a curved one, and so on, which is forensically valuable for matching a suspected weapon to the wound.
By contrast, suture diastasis is a separation along cranial sutures, a contrecoup lesion is brain damage diametrically opposite the impact, and a ring fracture encircles the foramen magnum after axial loading. None of these imprints the weapon shape. Therefore a signature fracture is a depressed skull fracture.\[\boxed{\text{Depressed skull fracture}}\]
The result is a localised depression of the cranial vault whose margins mirror the contour of the striking surface, so the fracture literally bears the mark or signature of the weapon. A square-headed hammer leaves a square defect, the end of a pipe leaves a curved one, and so on, which is forensically valuable for matching a suspected weapon to the wound.
By contrast, suture diastasis is a separation along cranial sutures, a contrecoup lesion is brain damage diametrically opposite the impact, and a ring fracture encircles the foramen magnum after axial loading. None of these imprints the weapon shape. Therefore a signature fracture is a depressed skull fracture.\[\boxed{\text{Depressed skull fracture}}\]
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