[Characteristics of bloodstain patterns in bleeding from a contused wound of head with rupture of a branch of superficial temporal artery].

An expert case is presented in which a man was found dead in his apartment, on the bed. Upon examination of the crime scene, the deceased was found to have a contused wound of the frontoparietal region on the left side. The apartment contained a large number of bloodstains, including patterns characteristic of arterial spurt. The expertise revealed that the head wound has an adjacent rupture of the frontal branch of the left superficial temporal artery. The specified laceration accompanied by stream external hemorrhage was complicated by exsanguination, which was the cause of death. The bloodstain patterns at the scene were analyzed showing that the character of arterial bloodstain patterns is determined by the stage of the streaming ejection, at which its elements come into contact with the receiving surface. At the compact stage, rounded spots are formed; at the atomized stage, an area with numerous small elements resembling a «fine rain» type is observed.