International journal of legal medicine
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Post-mortem imaging is increasingly used in forensic field in cases of natural deaths related to cardiovascular diseases, which represent the most common causes of death in developed countries. While radiological examination is generally considered to be a good complement for conventional autopsy, it was thought to have limited application in cardiovascular pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of post-mortem multidetector coronary artery computed tomography in cases of sudden death in adults. ⋯ Isolated single-organ PMCTA could be considered a valid and useful tool in addition to traditional autopsy investigation (macroscopic sections and histology) in identifying the cause of death by recognizing the presence and degree of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction area visualization.
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Aim of this study was to investigate whether lung assessment on post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMR) can reliably differentiate between live birth and stillbirth. ⋯ Lung aeration on PMMR appears to have high overall accuracy for confirmation of live birth versus intrauterine foetal death but now requires validating in a larger cohort of perinatal deaths.
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Urea nitrogen, creatinine, and uric acid are relatively stable in postmortem serum and may, therefore, be used for diagnostic purposes when chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure are investigated as causes of death. Nevertheless, uncertainties remain in defining the best alternative to postmortem serum for the identification and assessment of significantly decreased kidney function. In this study, we investigated urea nitrogen, creatinine, and uric acid levels in postmortem serum, pericardial fluid, and vitreous humor in a series of medico-legal cases (500 autopsies) with various causes of death. ⋯ Data analysis failed to reveal statistically significant differences between postmortem serum and pericardial fluid urea nitrogen, creatinine, and uric acid concentrations. Conversely, statistically significant differences were observed in all analyzed biomarkers between postmortem serum and vitreous humor levels, with lower concentrations of all markers measured in vitreous. The results of this study suggest that, in order to estimate as accurately as possible blood analyte concentrations at the time of death, pericardial fluid should be preferred to vitreous humor.
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During the post-mortem examination of babies and young children, it is important to be able to visualise the brain and its coverings, particularly in cases where a head injury is likely to have occurred. In this paper, we present an improved method for removal of the calvarial bones in infant autopsies to enable viewing of the dura mater and brain. In contrast to the standard post-mortem procedure for observing and removing the brain, this novel technique is minimally disruptive, allowing the dura mater to remain undamaged. ⋯ In another case, the dura mater was slightly damaged due to the inexperience of the operator in using the neurosurgical tools. This method of calvarial bone removal reduces the degree of post-mortem artefact and enhances the ability to observe and photographically document autopsy findings, including the artefact-free detection of signs of injury such as epidural or subdural haematoma, and brain swelling. This technique has now become a routine practise in both of our units to remove the skull bones in infant/young children post-mortem examinations.
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In modern medico-legal literature, only a small number of publications deal with fatal injuries from black powder guns. Most of them focus on the morphological features such as intense soot soiling, blast tattooing and burn effects in close-range shots or describe the wound ballistics of spherical lead bullets. Another kind of "unusual" and potentially lethal weapons are handguns destined for firing only blank cartridges such as starter and alarm pistols. ⋯ As there was no exit wound and no bullet lodged in the body, the injury was caused exclusively by the inrushing combustion gases of the propellant (black powder) comparable with the gas jet of a blank cartridge gun. In contact shots to ballistic gelatine using the suicide's pistol loaded with black powder but no projectile, the formation of a nearly spherical cavity could be demonstrated by means of a high-speed camera. The extent of the temporary cavity after firing with 5 g of black powder roughly corresponded to the zone of destruction found in the suicide's body.