#46784: Shiny Bruises

Darth Fedora · Post by **Darth Fedora** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:24 pm

My bruises are shiny sometimes, but that's only when they get really inflamed. I think the shininess is probably more from the swelling stretching the skin out than from the actual bruise, especially since bruises are subcutaneous and don't affect the skin.

vorpal blade · Post by **vorpal blade** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:51 pm

I'd just like to point out that a "shiner" is a bruise cause by a blow to the eye, in informal English.

Benvolio · Post by **Benvolio** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:39 pm

I was surprised that the writers didn't also note this. Consulting one's self or one's friend isn't exactly a good statistical sample. I think it's more common among certain skin types, and it usually is accompanied by serious inflammation. That's probably why bruised eyes are good candidates for that great purple shine.

Tao · Post by **Tao** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:54 am

I must say that I didnt see this question until late, and was more than a little surprised at the response as well. I did my own research (on-line and in my personal medical textbooks) and surprisingly to me, I could find no evidence to show that bruises shine. Even in the multiple (read: dozens if not well over 100) pictures I viewed and reviewed I couldn't find a good candidate to show the shine. Some did seem to have it, but no moreso than the flesh surrounding. Huh. While I seem to remember my own bruises seeming shiny, but I could not think of any physiological reasons why, the best I could come up with was along similar lines as you Darth, that the shine comes from collateral damage received at the same time as the bruise.

vorpal blade · Post by **vorpal blade** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:44 pm

I would think that bruises are shiny when the skin is stretched smooth due to swelling. Smoother skin would reduce the amount of light scattered radomly and increase the amount of light specularly reflected.

Post by **Laser Jock** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:05 pm

I just realized that I neglected to put everything in my answer. Oops. I didn't just ask a friend on this one, though that's all I mentioned. I (a little like Tao, apparently) did some searches for shiny bruises, and nothing was really coming up. And since the question got up to 100 hours or so with no real answers, I took that as evidence that none of my fellow writers had any idea what the questioner was talking about either. Swelling makes sense. Certain areas of the body, especially (like the face) are more likely to be noticeably swollen when bruised.