<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>A three year old girl was observed to have bluish marks on her back, arms and legs. The social services initiated an examination on the local hospital, but no conclusion regarding the marks was reached. The girl was institutionalized before a forensic examination after three days concluded that the marks were Mongolian spots. The case stresses the importance of being able to distinguish between Mongolian spots and skin hematomas and the need for a genuine clinical forensic examination in cases where child abuse is suspected. A guide for distinguishing between Mongolian spots and skin hematomas is presented.</p></abstract>

A three year old girl was observed to have bluish marks on her back, arms and legs. The social services initiated an examination on the local hospital, but no conclusion regarding the marks was reached. The girl was institutionalized before a forensic examination after three days concluded that the marks were Mongolian spots. The case stresses the importance of being able to distinguish between Mongolian spots and skin hematomas and the need for a genuine clinical forensic examination in cases where child abuse is suspected. A guide for distinguishing between Mongolian spots and skin hematomas is presented.

A three year old girl was removed from her parents because of failure to recognize Mongolian spots

Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark., J.B. Winslowsvej 17B, 5000 Odense C, Denmark

Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A three year old girl was observed to have bluish marks on her back, arms and legs. The social services initiated an examination on the local hospital, but no...

A three year old girl was removed from her parents because of failure to recognize Mongolian spots

Published Online: Jul 01, 2016

Page range: 3 - 5

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjfs-2016-0002

Keywords
Mongolian spots, skin hematomas, physical abuse, forensic examination

© 2016 Søren Christoffersen, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A three year old girl was removed from her parents because of failure to recognize Mongolian spots

Published Online: Jul 01, 2016

Page range: 3 - 5

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjfs-2016-0002

KeywordsMongolian spots, skin hematomas, physical abuse, forensic examination

© 2016 Søren Christoffersen, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Mongolian spots, skin hematomas, physical abuse, forensic examination