Survey on Non-Conflict-Related Lesion Patterns (Self Injury) at Sari Legal Medicine Center in 2007

Self harm is a deliberate, impulsive and non fatal behavior that leads to injury and the most common form of it is a tissue laceration which is called self-injury. Among all 3922 of violence injured cases in the year 2007 at Sari Legal Medicine Center, 84 nonconflict- related records were studied and variables such as gender, age, lesion type, injuring tool, lesion locations and any other traumatic injuries were surveyed. Data were analyzed in SPSS 11. 5. 78 (92. 9٪) male and 6 (7. 1٪) female were studied. Average of the age was 28. 80±9. 39 and half of them injuries were scratches and bruising (57. 1٪ and 32. 1٪ respectively). The most common harming tools were ridged hard objects (50٪), sharp peaked tools (36. 9٪) and solid objects (13. 1٪). The most common place was arm (22. 6٪), while neck (19٪) and forearm (19٪) came next. 59 persons (70. 2٪) had traumatic lesions too. Self injury during non-conflict conditions should never be neglected during assessment a patient in forensic medicine. Traumatic lesions would never refute self injury in other parts of the body.