摘要:

A judicial hanging occurred in the state of Washington. Neck injuries were studied by MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computed Tomography). In addition, vertebral arteriograms were performed to evaluate the nature of the neck injury. This report details the anatomical changes produced by judicial hanging.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)-related artifacts in pediatric rescue that have the potential for serious complications in surviving patients have been well described in the medical literature. Medically trivial soft-tissue injuries, especially of the face and neck, carry predominantly forensic significance and have received less attention. We describe such injuries in nine of 25 consecutive cases of infants who received CPR, and correlate those injuries with specific rescue maneuvers. Techniques for effective investigation and interpretation of such injuries are suggested.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Facts and principles concerning the role of the medical examiner or coroner in the procurement of organs or tissue for transplantation are presented. Topics discussed are the legalities and the importance of control of the dead body, the medical examiner's or coroner's role in the determination of death, recognition of and working around procurement artifacts and resultant loss of evidence, the medical examiner's or coroner's part in determining suitability of organs for transplantation, the medical examiner or coroner's request for donation by the family, granting of permission for donation of organs or tissue by the medical examiner or coroner, and examination of the mortally injured by the medicolegal officer.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Petechial hemorrhages are areas of pericapillary bleeding that occur in a wide spectrum of disorders, including some of particular forensic interest. Since their potential significance was first recognized by Tardieu in 1855, attention has largely focused on their diagnostic importance. There have been only a few studies of their mechanism of production. Although the pathogenesis of petechiae is often conjectural, it seems that, in spite of their stereotypical gross appearance, a variety of pathogenetic mechanisms may be involved. They range from mechanical disruption of the capillary wall to subtle cellular injury that permits the transit of red blood cells through the endothelial cytoplasm. I discuss several conditions that are commonly encountered in forensic practice, with emphasis on petechial hemorrhages and their pathogenesis.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Although senile ecchymoses are a well-recognized phenomenon on hospital wards, in patients who die in other settings they may be wrongly interpreted as bruising caused by physical assault. Therefore, we studied a total of 410 elderly (> 50 years of age) patients by a prospective examination of autopsy reports to elucidate their nature, including their general frequency, their anatomical distribution, and their physical appearance. We found a clear association with increasing age and a common distribution on the arms, rather than the neck or legs. One unique finding is that ecchymoses are related to place of residence, in that less mobile elderly persons are more likely to develop this condition, possibly as a result of lifting.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Embolization is a well-recognized phenomenon in medicine and forensic pathology and generally involves formed blood elements, bone, air, amniotic fluid, or more exotic items such as bullets. We report the embolization of a chain-saw link. The case demonstrates how, without complete autopsy and investigation, a penetrating sharp-force injury could be misdiagnosed and a false conclusion as to the commission of a crime could occur.Although the forensic literature is replete with examples of bizarre emboli, from bullets to suspected crystals of methylmethacrylate, a literature review failed to find a single case of penetrating chain-saw-link injury as a cause of traumatic death.Most reports of chain-saw incidents cite accidental injuries to hands and arms or dramatic facial injuries due to entrapment and recoil (1,2). One fatality occurred from a skull fracture and cerebral injury when a 19-year-old man fell onto a saw.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Antichemical warfare kits that were issued to all Israeli residents 6 months before the Gulf War included masks of various types suited to the age of the user. During the war, 10 adults died of suffocation due to mishandling of the filter of the masks despite the Civil Defense Authority's repeated instructions to be cautious. These masks remained in the possession of the population after the war. We report on six cases of suicidal asphyxia incurred by donning the gas mask tightly sealed that have occurred since 1991.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Suicidal suffocation by forced oxygen depletion (environmental hypoxia) with carbon dioxide (CO2) and with propane is discussed in two cases. No toxicologic proof was available with the former and circumstantial evidence weighed heavily. The latter case demonstrated inhaled propane by an on-scene transthoracic aspirate; all other toxicology specimens, including brain, liver, blood, kidney, fat, and vitreous, did not contain hydrocarbons. This second fatality was complicated by multi-agent overdose, including diphenhydramine, fluoxetine (Prozac), and nordiazepam. The designation of these deaths as due to oxygen depletion involved careful scrutiny of the autopsy, toxicologic, and scene findings. Complete analysis ofallfactors surrounding these rarely encountered suffocation deaths is stressed.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Detailed toxicological studies were undertaken on two suicides by amitriptyline overdose, one with salicylate also. In the first case, 10 initial blood samples taken 21 h after body discovery and an estimated 28 h after overdose had drug concentration (mg/L) ranges of 2.5–12 for amitriptyline (AM), 0.7–3.1 for nortriptyline (NOR), and 81–244 for salicylate (SAL). Ten blood samples taken 42 h later showed corresponding ranges of 1–39 AM, 0.6–7.0 NOR, and 86–310 SAL. Sample haemoglobin concentrations (range, 8.7–23.5 g/dl) did not correlate with drug concentrations. Postmortem increase in pulmonary vein AM concentration occurred more rapidly than in the pulmonary artery, likely reflecting relative ease of diffusion across the vessel walls from lung (AM, 60 mg/kg). In nine tissue samples, drug concentrations (mg/kg) were highest in the liver: AM, 301; and SAL, 670. Considerable drug residue was present in gastric contents, duodenal contents, and seven sequential small bowel contents. In both cases, sanguineous putrefactive pleural fluid showed higher AM concentrations on the left than on the right (2.0 vs 1.4 and 23 vs 16), likely reflecting diffusion from gastric drug residue. The detailed case data illustrate the intensity and complexity of postmortem drug diffusion from reservoirs in solid organs, such as the lungs, and unabsorbed gastric residue, into the blood and putrefactive fluids.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Two suicides took estimated maximum dothiepin doses of 765 and 1875 mg, respectively. Initial drug levels in nine and 12 blood samples were 0.26–1.85 and 4.08–23.98 mg/L, with highest concentrations in the pulmonary veins. Pulmonary artery concentrations rose markedly over 18 h: 0.32 rising to 0.9, and 6.54 rising to 19.53 mg/L. Peripheral blood concentrations were relatively stable. Concentrations in liver, heart, lung, and skeletal muscle were, for case 1, 4.3, 2.92, 18.6, and 1.1 mg/kg; and, for case 2, 52, 16.8, 73.9, and 8.98 mg/kg. New Zealand white female rabbits (2.4–3.2 kg) given 20 mg dothiepin hydrochloride intravenously were killed with pentobarbital after 1 h. Blood was sampled from the thorax, infra-renal inferior vena cava, and supra-renal inferior vena cava at 0, 1, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h postmortem in paired animals. Liver, heart, lung, and skeletal muscle were sampled at 0 and 24 h. Mean dothiepin levels in thoracic blood rose from 0.43 mg/L at time 0 to 1.73 at 8 h and then fell to 0.61 at 12 h, likely reflecting initial redistribution from the lungs (63.4 mg/kg at time 0 and 27.3 mg/kg at 24 h) followed by putrefaction-associated bacterial degradation. Falls in blood drug levels associated with putrefaction were not seen in the human cases. Interpretation of postmortem dothiepin blood concentrations is complicated by pronounced interindividual variations in in vivo pharmacokinetics, the postmortem redistribution phenomenon, and variable drug degradation by bacteria.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1994

数据来源: OVID