Washerwoman Hands
Definition
White, wrinkled, macerated skin on the hands and feet from prolonged water immersion. Indicates duration of immersion, not ante-mortem versus post-mortem submersion.
- Appearance
- White, wrinkled, macerated skin
- Location
- Hands and feet
- Cause
- Prolonged water immersion
- Indicates
- Duration of immersion, not ante- vs post-mortem submersion
Common questions
Can washerwoman hands tell an examiner whether the person was alive when they entered the water?+
No. Maceration is purely a time-and-water effect on skin and progresses the same way whether the body entered the water alive or was already dead, so it is used only to estimate how long the body was submerged, not the manner or cause of death.
What factors change how quickly this maceration develops?+
Water temperature is the dominant factor, with warmer water accelerating skin wrinkling and loosening within hours, while cold water slows the process considerably, so any duration estimate from washerwoman hands must be adjusted for the water conditions at the scene.
Related terms
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- Dry Drowning
- Drowning in which laryngospasm seals the glottis, preventing water entry into the lungs. The victim asphyxiates without pulmonary aspiration. Autopsy shows non-specific...
- Frustule
- The silica cell wall of a diatom, composed of two overlapping valves (epitheca and hypotheca). Frustules are taxonomically distinctive, chemically resistant to...
- Pollard 1998 Protocol
- The standardised diatom test protocol published in Forensic Science International by A.M. Pollard (1998), specifying acid digestion conditions, wash steps, microscopy method,...
- Secondary Drowning
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- Vitreous Sodium
- The sodium concentration in the vitreous humour of the eye; reduced below normal in freshwater drowning (systemic haemodilution) and elevated in saltwater...
- Wet Drowning
- Drowning in which water is aspirated into the airways and lungs during the immersion event. Produces over-distended pale lungs, frothy exudate, and...