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Howard Fischer, MD; Pamela Hammel, DDS; David Allasio, MSW; Walter W. Tunnessen, Jr, MD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150(4):429-430.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

A 3-MONTH-OLD infant with poor weight gain (weight at presentation only 570 g greater than birth weight) was noted to have skin lesions on both hands and feet (Figure 1 through Figure 3). No explanation for the lesions was initially offered by the mother. Later, she suggested that they may have resulted from scratches from a ring.

Denouement and Discussion

Human Bite Marks

Unexplained injuries occurring in children should arouse suspicion of possible abuse. When a caretaker's explanation of injuries changes, the suspicion of abuse should be reinforced. Human bite marks rarely occur accidentally and are good indicators of inflicted injury.¹ Bite marks found on infants may represent punishment for crying or soiling. Older children may be bitten in the context of physical assault or during sexual abuse.

A human bite mark has a parabolic shape reflecting the shape of the human dental arch.¹ No single tooth's impression . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Pediatrics (Dr Fischer) and Social Work (Mr Allasio), Children's Hospital of Michigan, and Medical Examiner's Office of Wayne County (Dr Hammel), Detroit, Mich; and the American Board of Pediatrics, Chapel Hill, NC (Dr Tunnessen).

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