1,721,064 research outputs found
Multiple heart and pericardial lacerations due to blunt trauma from assault
No full textA case of 80-year-old woman who died of hemorrhagic shock as a consequence of multiple heart and pericardial lacerations as well as myocardial contusion due to blunt trauma from assault is reported. At postmortem examination, fractures of the body of the sternum and bilateral ribs were detected. A laceration of the anterior left-sided pericardium, a 2.8-cm linear tear in the right venous sinus from the origin of the inferior to the origin of the superior vena cava, a 3-cm laceration between the venous sinus and the right auricle, and a 2-cm tear in the anterior wall of the left atrium, behind the aortic trunk, were visible. Multiple heart and pericardial lacerations were thought to be caused by compression of the heart between sternum and vertebrae, together with multiple rib fractures and extensive movements of the sternum toward the spine as a result of kicking
Eviration in a psychiatric setting: An unusual case report
No full textThis paper describes a case of eviration by a second person. A 53-year-old man persuaded an acquaintance to evirate him for money. Forensic psychiatric assessments of the two subjects were carried out. Both men suffered from psychiatric disorders: the first from a delusional disorder of somatic type, histrionic personality disorder and slight mental retardation associated with diabetes (subject 1), and the second - the active subject - from alcohol abuse in remission associated with borderline personality disorder and slight mental retardation (subject 2). The case offers many opportunities for reflection from a clinical and forensic point of view
Brachial plexus injury following subclavian vein catheterization. A case report
No full textSubclavian vein cannulation may be complicated by lesions of the peripheral nervous system, such as injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve, phrenic nerve, and brachial plexus. We describe a case of lesion of the upper trunk of the brachial plexus during multiple attempts at subclavian vein catheterization. This type of complication, ascribed to erroneous application of procedures or anatomical variations, may be minimized by abstaining from multiple attempts at venipuncture
Alcol etilico nell’aria espirata. Comparazione BrAC/DAC in una popolazione di conducenti
No full textMisinterpretation of Anogenital Findings and Misdiagnosis of Child Sexual Abuse: The Role of the Forensic Pathologist
Full text linkBackground: The interpretation of anogenital postmortem findings is an issue of main concern, because the nature and appearance of anogenital tissues during the postmortem interval is not widely known by health providers. Case: An 8-year-old girl died in the hospital 48 hours after hospitalization. On the basis of the atypical anogenital findings, the health care professionals notified the fact to the Public Prosecutor as an alleged child abuse. The forensic pathologist ruled out this possibility, interpreting the anal findings due to physiological postmortem anal alterations and to the insertion of suppositories before death. Summary and Conclusion: Forensic pathological analysis should be included in routine postmortem evaluation in the case of suspected child sexual abuse, because normal postmortem findings could be misinterpreted by physicians, whose sole experience is on the basis of antemortem scenarios
Cannabis and cocaine: a lethal cocktail triggering coronary sudden death
No full textThe case of a 31-year-old man who died suddenly, with a history of drug abuse and no risk factors for coronary artery disease, is herein reported. Postmortem examination disclosed critical stenosis due to a fibrocellular atherosclerotic plaque complicated by occlusive thrombosis at the level of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Chemico-toxicological analysis revealed high levels of cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, and metabolites. When dealing with an acute coronary syndrome in young people, with or without a history of drug abuse, toxicological examination should always be performed to rule out unnatural causes of myocardial ischemia
White spirit and murder
No full textThis case, of legal importance and interest, involved a murder presumably committed by incapacitating the victim with a volatile substance and violent mechanical asphyxiation by suffocation. The court's solution to the case was founded on essential comparative chemico-toxicological analyses and results from non-biological materials obtained during investigations and from biological fluids taken from the body
Chronic hydrocephalus and alcohol abuse in a young male suicide
No full textThe paper describes a case of suicide in a young man affected by compensated chronic hydrocephalus who was subject to alcohol abuse. The case was studied by means of a complex set of analyses, including circumstantial and clinical data, anatomohistopathological findings, and chemicotoxicologic tests. What clearly emerges in the case is the importance of a continuing neuropsychological follow-up in patients with shunted hydrocephalus. The forensic interest in the case is due to the peculiar autopsy findings discussed in relation to the possible causes of sudden death in subjects with hydrocephalus
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