The Legal and Medical Aspects of the Trial and Death of Christ by Dr. Robert Bucklin

Pierre Barbet Revisited by Dr. Frederick Zugibe
 

From the neck to the feet (and also on the dorsal or back image), there are many dumbbell shaped wounds which were inflicted by a type of Roman Scourge known as the Flagrum Taxolatum, or terrible scourge.
 

"The are several references to Jesus being hit with fists and having blows rained on Him. Dr. Robert Bucklin, the former Los Angeles forensic pathologist and Deputy Coroner, now retired, carefully studied the full-length photos of the Shroud and analyzed the wounds and weapons that may have caused them. In the Video tape The Silent Witness as well as in various medical journals, Dr. Bucklin outlines his findings. He notes that there are several facial and head injuries. Among these are indications that Jesus was violently struck on the right cheek. There is swelling and partial closing of the right eye and a contusion below the right eye. The  nose of Jesus appears elongated, and Bucklin indicates that there appears to a separation of the nasal cartilage and possible fracture incurred by a blow or fall. Also, the tip of the nose has an abrasion as if the victim has fallen or has been struck. There is a rivulet of blood and saliva on the right side of the mouth."

Tradition has it that Jesus fell three times on the way to the crucifixion. Though this is not borne out in the Scriptures, there is evidence of microscopic dirt particles in the image on the left knee, left eyebrow, left cheek, the tip of the nose, and center of the forehead. This is suggestive that Jesus did fall. 

Archeological evidence including the bones of a crucifixion victim known as Johannan shows that the Romans used long iron spikes. This is not the only means of crucifixion. In some cases, victims were tied to crosses. 

It is important to note that the man on the Shroud was nailed through the wrist just above the palms. Traditional Christian art typically shows the nails in the palms. Studies by Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon and sindonologist show that nails used in the palms would not support the weight of a body and would tear through the flesh. Nails placed in an area of the wrist where eight bones meet (the Space of Destot) will support a body. Dr. Barbet also points out that a nail driven through this point (in the wrist) would force the thumbs into the palm. This is consistent with the image on the Shroud in which the thumbs are not visible.

In Biblical Greek and in Aramaic there is only one word for both the hand and the wrist.

More on this topic can be found in the articles by Dr. Bucklin and Dr. Zugibe (links shown above).

Since the crucifixion took place on a Friday afternoon just before the Sabbath at the time of Passover, Jewish authorities were probably anxious to have the body of Jesus removed before sundown. These authorities asked Pilate to have the legs broken and bodies of Jesus and the thieves removed. Dr. Bucklin has determined that the legs of Jesus were not broken. The Shroud image shows evidence of a wound, 1 3/4 inches high and 7/16 inches wide, in the side that is consistent with a thrust of a Roman lance blade of the type of lance used by soldiers in and around Jerusalem.

There are multiple theories about the blood and water. Dr. Bucklin explains that, in his opinion, the plasma and blood corpuscles would have separated in the pericardial sack. Piercing of the sack by a lance would have caused a flow that appeared as blood and water. Dr. Barbet offers a different theory. He suggests that the blood flowed from the heart while the water was a clear-like fluid that came from the pericardium, a thin sack that surrounds the heart. For more details, see Image of the Risen Christ by the Rev. Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson. Regardless, the flow of blood and the position of the lance would, as evident on the Shroud, are consistent with the Gospel account.