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Partial amputation of the tongue—self-inflicted or physical assault?

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Abstract

Injuries of the tongue are generally self-inflicted lesions and occur during different diseases or external incidents. The amputation of the tongue is a rare event. In this article, we report about a woman presenting with a complete amputation of the anterior third of the tongue. The morphological findings, which are essential for the differentiation of self-inflicted injuries and injuries caused by a third party, are demonstrated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Fürstengraben 23, 07743, Jena, Germany

    S. Morgenthal

  2. Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    R. Bayer & J. Dreßler

  3. Clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, Klinikum Chemnitz gGmbH, Chemnitz, Germany

    A. Doerre

Authors
  1. S. Morgenthal
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  2. R. Bayer
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  3. A. Doerre
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  4. J. Dreßler
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Correspondence to S. Morgenthal.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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All procedures performed were carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 (in its current, revised form from 2013).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Morgenthal, S., Bayer, R., Doerre, A. et al. Partial amputation of the tongue—self-inflicted or physical assault?. Int J Legal Med 130, 859–862 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1263-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1263-6

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