Abstract: Objective To summarize the characteristics and investigate the mechanisms of boat propeller injuries so as to explore the identification methods between boat propeller injuries and corpse dismemberment. Methods More than 100 autopsy cases of boat propeller injuries were collected in a period between 1994 and 2005 in Huzhou district, Zhejiang province. The characteristics of injuries caused by propeller, including abrasion, wound, fracture and severed wound, and the characteristics of clothing, were retrospectively studied and summarized. The severed cross wound section of boat propeller injuries was compared with that caused by corpse dismemberment. Results The boat propeller injuries were resulted from high-speed propellers with enormous splitting power and mechanical cutting, while corpse dismemberment were resulted from cutting and dismembering the body with sharp instruments. Due to the different mechanisms, the different strength of force and recoil force, the severed wound cross section had different characteristics. Conclusion Wounds caused by boat propeller injuries have their unique characteristics, distinguished from wounds of dismembered corpse.

Key words: forensic pathology, boat propeller injuries, corpse dismemberment, forensic identification