Observable Signs of Physical Abuse

Richard Krugman, M.D.
Dean, School of Medicine
University of Colorado

"For physical abuse we may see bruises or injuries that are unexplained. Physical abuse is usually easier to spot that sexual abuse or emotional abuse. In physical abuse the child who comes in with black eyes or has bruises generally over non-bony areas of the body, over soft tissue areas, over their abdomen, over their buttocks, over their cheeks are probably children who are more likely to have been abused than have accidental injuries."