Search results for "Forensic pathology"

Dog-bite-related attacks: A new forensic approach

2020

Dog attacks today represent a health hazard considering that prevention strategies have not always been successful. The identification of the dog that attacked the victim is necessary, considering the civil or criminal consequences for the animal's owner. An accurate scene analysis must be performed collecting a series of important information.Forensic investigations in dog attacks involve different methods, such as the evaluating of the canine Short Tandem Repeat (STR) typing in saliva traces on wounds or bite mark analysis, however, these techniques cannot always be applied. The effort to find new methods to identify the dog that attacked the victim represents a very interesting field for…

Changes to legal forensic inspections in Sicily during Covid-19

2020

Our institute, in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, arranges for cadaveric inspections during a judicial inspection, jointly with the police. With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, operating methods have changed. Specifically, we now discuss the cases individually before attending to guarantee the health of operators and citizens

Homicide with post mortem dismemberment of the victim

2007

Perioperative and anesthetic deaths: toxicological and medico legal aspects

2019

Abstract Background Anesthesia has become safer during decades, though there is still a preventable mortality; the complexity of medical and surgical interventions, increasingly older and sicker patients, has created a host of new hazards in anesthesiology. In this paper, some of these perioperative (PO) fatal adverse events are investigated in terms of health responsibility. Selective literature research in several data bases, concerning perioperative and anesthetic deaths and medical responsibility, was performed. Main text A generally accepted definition of the anesthesia and perioperatory-related death still remains one of the major concerns in forensic pathology, and the terms “operati…

Preventable fatal injury during rally race: a multidisciplinary approach

2020

Abstract Introduction The motor vehicle crash (MVC) constitutes an important challenge for forensic pathology in order to identify the manner and cause of death. Our study focuses on a fatal accident during a rally race corresponding to MVC sub-category. Materials and method Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) was performed before the conventional autopsy. Autoptic and PMCT data were compared. Data collection allowed analyzing biomechanical dynamics of the incident and post-traumatic injuries through qualitative-statistics and solicitation quantitative indices. Results Photo and circumstantial evidence analysis showed a wrong installation of double shoulder belt system of head and neck su…

A fatal case of a paint thinner ingestion: Comparison between toxicological and histological findings

2010

Toluene and xylene are aromatic hydrocarbons commonly used as an industrial solvent for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, paints, and chemicals. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has determined that toluene levels of 2000 parts per million (ppm) are considered dangerous to life and health. Several studies have examined the absorption of toluene and xylene following inhalation and oral ingestion in humans. Volatile organic compounds that are absorbed into the blood are distributed throughout the body; in particular, distribution of absorbed toluene and xylene in humans and rodents is characterized by preferential uptake in well-perfused and lipophil tissues such as the br…

Investigation of the skin lesions in lightning strike death

2021

Lightning strike-related deaths are unusual, and the victim bodies can present different lesions due to the different injury mechanisms associated with this event. Since the post mortem assessment can be challenging, the evaluation of the characteristics of the skin lesions becomes fundamental to reconstruct the event. Due to the paucity of literature on this topic, the authors report the case of a 59-year-old man found dead near his home after a thunderstorm. Initially considered a murder by gunshot, the autopsy revealed the typical lightning strike lesions, also known as Lichtenberg figures. The adequate interpretation of the autopsy data and the histological evidences allowed to reconstr…

Utility of post mortem computed tomography in clivus fracture diagnosis. Case illustration and literature review

2017

Clivus fractures are usually associated with head blunt trauma due to traffic accident and falls. A 23 - year-old man died immediately after a smash-up while he was stopping on his motorcycle. Post-mortem Computed tomography (PMCT), performed before autopsy, revealed a complex basilar skull base fractures associated with brainstem and cranio-vertebral junction injuries, improving the diagnostic performance of conventional autopsy. Imaging data were re-assessable and PMCT offers the possibility to perform multiplanar and volume rendered reconstructions, increasing forensic medicine knowledge related to traumatic injuries.

Do we really need new medical information about the Turin Shroud?

2014

Abstract Image processing of the Turin Shroud (TS) shows that the Man represented in it has undergone an under glenoidal dislocation of the humerus on the right side and lowering of the shoulder, and has a flattened hand and enophthalmos; conditions that have not been described before, despite several studies on the subject. These injuries indicate that the Man suffered a violent blunt trauma to the neck, chest and shoulder from behind, causing neuromuscular damage and lesions of the entire brachial plexus. The posture of the left claw-hand is indicative of an injury of the lower brachial plexus, as is the crossing of the hands on the pubis, not above the pubis as it would normally be, and …

A possible biomarker for methadone related deaths

2017

Abstract Methadone (MTH) concentrations in those dying of MTH toxicity totally overlap concentrations where the presence of MTH is only an incidental finding, making it very difficult to make distinctions in actual cases. A biomarker, be it anatomical or biochemical for MTH toxicity is badly needed, particularly if that markers were known to disrupt effective ventilation. Because the brainstem houses the regulatory centers for cardiorespiratory-control enters, it would seem to be the most likely anatomical site to seek abnormalities in cardiorespiratory control. Objective To locate and describe the cells of nucleus of the solitary tract (TS)(NTS) in human brainstem and determine if neuronal…