Chapter on Head Wounds and Their Names

Al-Asmaʿi states: The first type of head injury (shijaj) is the hariṣah, which is the one that scratches or splits the skin. From this comes the saying, "The launderer tore (haraṣa) the cloth," meaning he ripped it. Then comes the baḍiah, which is the injury that cuts through the flesh after the skin. Next is the mutalahimah, which penetrates into the flesh but does not reach the thin membrane covering the bone (simhaq). Then is the simhaq, which is the wound where only a thin layer remains between it and the bone. Every thin layer is called simhaq. This term is also used to describe thin clouds in the sky (samaʾ samahiq) and thin layers of fat on a sheep. Following that is the muḍihah, which exposes and reveals the bone. Then comes the hashimah, which crushes the bone. After that is the munaqqilah, which shatters the bone into pieces, causing fragments (farash Al-ʿiẓam) - thin layers that remain on the bone beneath the flesh. The poet Al-Nabighah referenced this in his verse: "And following them are the thin fragments of their brows." Then is the maʾmumah, which reaches the protective covering of the head (umm Al-raʾs), the membrane covering the brain. Among other types of wounds are the jaʾifah, which penetrates into the internal body cavity or, in the case of the head, reaches the brain.