A laceration is a torn, ragged, mangled wound.

• Incisions or incised wounds, caused by a clean, sharp-edged object such as a knife, a razor or a glass splinter.
• Lacerations, irregular tear-like wounds caused by some blunt trauma. Lacerations and incisions may appear linear (regular) or stellate (irregular). The term laceration is commonly misused in reference to incisions.
• Abrasions (grazes), superficial wounds in which the topmost layer of the skin (the epidermis) is scraped off. Abrasions are often caused by a sliding fall onto a rough surface.
• Puncture wounds, caused by an object puncturing the skin, such as a nail or needle.
• Penetration wounds, caused by an object such as a knife entering and coming out from the skin .

The treatment depends on the type, cause, and depth of the wound as well as whether other structure beyond the skin are involved. Treatment of recent lacerations involves examination, cleaning, and closing the wound. If the laceration occurred some time ago it may be allowed to heal by secondary intention due to the high rate of infection with immediate closure. Minor wounds like bruises will heal on their own with skin discoloration usually disappears in 1–2 weeks. Abrasions which are wounds with intact skin usually require no active treatment except keeping the area clean with soap and water. Puncture wounds may be prone to infection depending on the depth of penetration. The entry of puncture wound is left open to allow for bacteria or debris to be removed from inside.

Incisions caused by a knife or a sharp object need to be thoroughly cleaned and the edges trimmed. If the wounds are fresh and less than 12 hours old, they can be closed with sutures or staples. Any wound which is more than 24 hours old should be suspected to be contaminated and not closed completely. Only the deeper tissues can be approximated and the skin should be left open. If closure of a wound is decided, techniques used include sutures. Absorbable sutures have the benefit over non absorbable sutures of not requiring removal. They are often preferred in children and even adults.