Forensic Pathology

Abstract  Advanced and specialized radiological diagnostic procedures are essential in cases of clinically diagnosed injuries to the
head, thorax, abdomen or extremities of a child, especially if there is no case history or if the reporting of an inadequate
trauma suggests battered child syndrome. In particular, these diagnostic procedures should aim at detecting lesions of the
central nervous system (CNS), so that the treatment can be immediately initiated. If the diagnostic imaging reveals findings
typically associated with child abuse, accurate documentation constituting evidence, which will stand up in court, is required
to prevent any further endangerment of the child’s welfare.

Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Continuing Medical Education ReviewDOI 10.1007/s...

Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Book ReviewDOI 10.1007/s12024-010-9146-0Authors
Linzi Wilson-Wilde, ANZPAA National Institute of Forensic Science Melbourne VIC Australia

Journal Forensic Science, Medicine, and PathologyOnline ISSN 1556-2891Print ISSN 1547-769X (Source: Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology)

This study was a retrospective study carried out by the Department of Forensic Medicine,
University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka over a 1 year period on firearm homicides examined at two principal forensic institutions
in the western province (Office of the Judicial Medical Officer Colombo and Ragama) of Sri Lanka. During the period of the
study (June 2005 to July 2006) 3100 medicolegal autopsies were carried out at these two institutions with 265 representing
alleged homicides. Eighty-three cases (31%) were identified as homicides due to fatal firearm injuries. The majority of the
victims (N = 76) were young adult males (aged 18–40 years). Almost half of the firearm homicides (47%; N = 39) were associated with previous enmity, while 33% (N = 27) we...

Abstract  Necropsy examination of dolphins living in Gulf St Vincent, Australia is routinely undertaken to enable the evaluation of
disease processes and to provide rapid medicolegal assessment of any inflicted and/or accidental injuries. Two Indo-Pacific
Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) are reported to demonstrate conditions that may result in unexpected death involving upper airway compromise by quite unusual
mechanisms. In the first case an adult male was found with extensive soft tissue trauma suggesting human interaction. At necropsy,
death was due instead to upper airway obstruction from an impacted Slender-spined Porcupine Fish (Diodon nichthemerus) in the posterior pharynx and upper esophagus. In the second case, an adult male dolphin was found to have died, fol...

Abstract  Suicide is a significant form of unnatural death and must be differentiated as such from other violent manners of death (homicide,
accident), but also from unexpected deaths due to natural causes. The distinction is made on the basis of a careful collection
and correct interpretation of post-mortem forensic findings on the one hand, the general background of the case and the criminal
investigation at the scene on the other. For competent assessment by the post-mortem medical examiner and/or forensic pathologist,
a thorough knowledge of the numerous methods of committing suicide and their pathomorphological correlates is indispensable.
This not only includes the constellation of findings and injury patterns typical of suicide, but also unusual manifestations.
Highl...

Content Type Journal ArticleCategory What's New Beyond ForensicsDOI 10.1007/s12024-010-9147-zAuthors
Elisabeth E. Turk, Universität des Saarlandes Institut für Rechtsmedizin Gebäude 42 66421 Homburg/Saar GermanyRalph BouHaidar, University of Edinburgh Forensic Medicine Unit The Wilkie Building, Teviot Place Edinburgh EH8 9AG Scotland, UK

Journal Forensic Science, Medicine, and PathologyOnline ISSN 1556-2891Print ISSN 1547-769X (Source: Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology)

Abstract  Hypothermia refers to a situation where there is a drop in body core temperature below 35°C. It is a potentially fatal condition.
In forensic medicine and pathology, cases of hypothermia often pose a special challenge to experts because of their complex
nature, and the often absent or nonspecific nature of morphological findings. The scene of the incident may raise suspicions
of a crime initially, due to phenomena such as terminal burrowing behavior and paradoxical undressing. An element of hypothermia
often contributes to the cause of death in drug- and alcohol-related fatalities, in the homeless, in immersion deaths, in
accidents and in cases of abuse or neglect, making the condition extremely relevant to forensic medical specialists. The aim
of this review is ...

Abstract  The erroneous transfusion of ABO-incompatible red cells may lead to life-threatening hemolysis and complement-induced shock,
resulting in death in less than 10% of cases (acute hemolytic transfusion reaction, AHTR). Identification of the cause of
an erroneous transfusion is accomplished in nearly all incidents merely by checking the identity of the patient, blood sample
and blood bag. The erroneous transfusion is confirmed by serological and—in the case of a fatality- immunohistochemical methods.
The differential diagnosis should rule out transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), other immunologically triggered
causes such as febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reaction (FNHTR) or allergic reactions, but also nonimmunological causes such
as bacterial contamina...

We report two cases of fatality
attributed to methadone toxicity in infants aged 3½ and 15 months of age, respectively. One of the two cases was also associated
with diazepam ingestion. We discuss the difficulties with the interpretation of paediatric forensic toxicology and review
the current literature related to methadone and diazepam toxicity in infants and older children.

Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Case ReportDOI 10.1007/s12024-009-9138-0Authors
V. Mistry, University of Warwick Warwick Medical School Coventry CV4 7AL UKA. J. Jeffery, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit Robert Kilpatrick Building Leicester LE2 7LX UKW. Madira, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary Forensic Toxicology Ser...

Abstract  Literature addressing the anatomic development of the dura and calvarium during childhood is limited. Nevertheless, histological
features of a subdural neomembrane (NM), including its thickness and vascularity, developing in response to an acute subdural
hematoma (SDH) have been compared to the dura of adults to estimate when an injury occurred. Therefore, we measured the morphometric
growth of the calvarium and dura and the vascular density within the dura during infancy. The mean thicknesses of the calvarium
and dura as a function of occipitofrontal circumference (OFC), as well as the mean number of vessels per 25× field, were determined
from the right parasagittal midparietal bone lateral to the sagittal suture of 128 infants without a history of head trauma.
...