摘要:

The deposition of backspatter on the firearm or person shooting can greatly assist the reconstruction of shooting incidents. Backspatter was investigated in experimental transverse gunshots (9-mm Luger) to the heads of calves (n = 9) from shooting distances of 0 to 10 cm. The firearms were examined with a magnifying glass; the surgical gloves and the right sleeve worn by the person shooting were examined with a stereomicroscope. On the firearms, backspatter of blood was found in five of the nine cases, and one or both gloves showed bloodspatter deposits in six and the right sleeves in four cases. Most droplets were 1 to 3 mm and circular or elongated. In addition, a fine spray of tiny blood deposits was present on the firearm and textiles in four cases. The distribution of the droplets on the firearms varied: the areas included regions shielded by prominent parts, and the droplets were predominantly located on the extensor side of the fingers and the radial aspect of the hands and sleeves. Backspatter of tiny bone fragments was recovered from the firearm and sleeve in only one case, but tissue (bone, fat, muscle, skin) was present on the ground in front of the entrance wound in seven cases. A careful investigation, including appropriate lightning and magnification, is necessary for reliable statements concerning the absence of backspatter or the extent of backspatter present.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The authors describe the clinical and pathologic findings in 29 patients with injuries from motor vehicle accidents. The seromuscular tear (SMT), the hallmark intestinal injury of the seatbelt syndrome, is an unambiguous lesion similar in all segments of bowel and is caused by a tear that separates the inner muscularis from the submucosa. It is characterized by (1) a wedge that strips the submucosa from the inner circular muscle; (2) a bending retraction of the torn muscularis toward the uninvolved bowel wall; (3) mucosal-submucosal fold effacement, causing the mucosa-submucosa bridge spanning the tear to become paper thin; and (4) the vulnerability of this bridge to ischemia that in 35% of the tears studied culminated in incipient or frank perforations and/or gangrene. Large SMTs, particularly the circumferential degloving type, are most prone to develop these complications. These findings militate against the idea that the SMT is a trivial lesion. The SMT occurred in 90% of patients in this report and accounted for 65% of all intestinal lesions. Seventy-three percent of the tears developed in the colon, and one third of all SMTs occurred in the sigmoid colon. Two thirds of all intestinal and mesenteric injuries clustered in three sites: the ileocecal region, the sigmoid colon, and the jejunum. Perforations were the principal lesion in the jejunum and SMTs at the other two locations. Ninety percent of patients experienced two or more intestinal lesions. This suggests the simultaneous action of different traumatic mechanisms on the bowel and its mesenteries in seatbelted persons who are in motor vehicle accidents.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The authors documented and evaluated experimental gunshots to a skull-brain model with high-speed photography and subsequent radiographic examination for comparison of the morphologic findings in the model. The artificial skull was a polyurethane ball constructed in layers, with a porous diploe sandwiched between a tabula externa and a tabula interna. The brain itself was simulated with gelatin 10% at 4°C, a material well known in wound ballistics. Gunshots were fired at the model from a distance of 10 m and documented with high-speed photography (up to 50 million frames/sec). Subsequently, a complete examination of the artificial skull was performed, including spiral computed tomography (with two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstructions) and classic skull autopsy. The high-speed photographs clearly showed the dynamic development of the skull fracture system from an external perspective. The subsequent radiographic examination of the entire head volume created two-dimensional reformations in any plane and three-dimensional reconstructions of the gunshot injury of the polyurethane skull-brain model, especially the wound channel and the fracture system. Thanks to the model and high-speed photographs, the dynamic development of the morphology of a gunshot wound could be documented and studied. The data from computed tomography, using two-dimensional and three-dimensional postprocessing with a perspective view, were very similar to those from classic head autopsy, but derived in a hands-off and nondestructive manner. This examination method leads the way to radiographic digital autopsy or virtual autopsy.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Revolvers with an open cylinder were found at three death scenes of apparently self-inflicted gunshot wounds. All three handguns were Smith & Wesson .38 or .357 revolvers. Investigation revealed that firing the gun with the thumb on the cylinder release latch could disengage the cylinder. A combination of gravity and recoil impact against the thumb would open the cylinder and even allow the casing and the unspent cartridges to fall from the gun, creating a confusing death scene.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Suicide by helium inhalation inside a plastic bag has recently been publicized by right-to-die proponents in “how to” print and videotape materials. This article reports a suicide performed according to this new and highly lethal technique, which is also a potentially undetectable cause of death. Toxicology information could not determine helium inhalation, and drug screening did not reveal data of significance. The cause of death could be determined only by the physical evidence at the scene of death. Helium inhalation can easily be concealed when interested parties remove or alter evidence. To ensure that their deaths are not documented as suicide, some individuals considering assisted suicide may choose helium methods and assistance from helpers. Recent challenges to Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law may increase interest in helium instead of barbiturates for assisted suicide.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Analysis of a series of deaths between 1986 and 2001 resulting from natural disease, accidents, suicides, and homicide, where postmortem animal activity had traumatized bodies, was undertaken at the Forensic Science Center in Adelaide to demonstrate the range of lesions that may occur and problems in interpretation that result. Tissue damage had been caused by a variety of animals, including fly larvae, ants, birds, dogs, rodents, sea lice, and sharks. Postmortem animal activity had disguised injuries, modified wounds, and created the appearances of inflicted injury. Problems with identification occurred after postmortem facial trauma, and loss of organ parenchyma had interfered with, or precluded, the precise determination of the manner of death in some cases. Specific kinds of tissue and organ damage may occur after death, necessitating careful assessment of lesions in a search for characteristic features of animal activity. The pattern of lesions may enable identification of the particular species of animal involved.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The body of a 28-year-old near-term pregnant woman was found in a 55-gallon steel drum in a crawl space under a house more than 30 years after her disappearance and death. At autopsy the body was remarkably well preserved and mummified, as was that of a male fetus. The decedent had 10 scalp lacerations and multiple comminuted depressed skull fractures and had died as a result of blunt force head trauma.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Combined murder-suicide is defined as homicide(s) followed by the perpetrator’s suicide within 1 week of the homicide(s). This phenomenon is observed worldwide with generally similar incidence rates. The authors report data from New Hampshire, a population distinguished from those in previous United States studies by its location, racial homogeneity, nonurban character, and low homicide rate. Sixteen murder-suicide events occurred in New Hampshire between October 1995 and October 2000. This represents an incidence of 0.26 per 100,000 person-years, a rate similar to previously reported values. Murder-suicide events accounted for 14.7% of all homicides in the state, higher than previous studies but not unexpected in view of the state’s lower homicide rate. Most perpetrators were male (94%), and most victims were female (88%), often in a spousal or consortial relationship. Firearms accounted for the majority of deaths. Various cofactors are examined, and a comparison of two recently proposed classification systems is discussed.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

An ordnance-disposal expert was killed while disposing of a cache of explosives. The likely position of the body was reconstructed by modeling the explosion as an omnidirectional emission of particles from a model of the explosion site and noting the distribution of particles on a model of a human. The applications and limitations of this method in reconstructing the events and correlation with the injuries noted at autopsy are discussed.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Pulmonary embolism can be observed at any age, but it occurs very rarely in the infant. The authors report the case of a 12-month-old boy who suddenly died during clinical improvement of gastroenteritis associated with otitis. Autopsy showed signs of dehydration and acute left pulmonary embolism, which was the cause of death. Thrombosis of the inferior vena cava extending into renal veins was seen. In this case, plasma hyperosmolality caused by dehydration might have favored the formation of venous thromboses. The various risk factors of pulmonary embolism in the child are discussed, including genetic factors.

ISSN:0195-7910    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID