Scleral hemorrhages in the eye of a strangled woman

This woman was strangled and died, note the scleral hemorrhages and petechiae, larger scleral hemorrhages can be seen in relation to neck compression.

Scleral hemorrhage or subconjunctival hemorrhage is a red spot on your eye caused by a broken blood vessel. It might look scary, but it’s usually harmless. Your conjunctiva, the clear membrane that covers your eye, has a lot of tiny blood vessels. When blood gets trapped beneath this layer, it’s called subconjunctival.

Petechiae are pinpoint, round spots that appear on the skin as a result of bleeding. The bleeding causes the petechiae to appear red, brown or purple. Petechiae (puh-TEE-kee-ee) commonly appear in clusters and may look like a rash. Usually flat to the touch, petechiae don’t lose color when you press on them.