Forensic Autopsy of Human Decomposed Bodies as a Valuable Tool for Prevention: A French Regional Study.

Post mortem changes due to putrefaction sometimes make people wrongly consider the autopsy of a decomposed body as unrewarding. A 5-year retrospective study was conducted and included all types of decomposed body subject to medicolegal autopsy, excluding bone remains and charred bodies. Sociodemographic, medical, and forensic data were collected.

A Death Involving a Fired and Deflected Bullet: A Case Report from Lyon University Institute of Forensic Science, France.

In case of gunshot deaths, atypical wounds can make the distinction between entrance and exit wounds harder. They may be due either to anatomical reasons or to diverse cogent ballistic arguments. The reported case pertains to a fatal hunting accident involving an expanded conical point bullet against the neck with both atypical entrance and exit wounds.

Hydrogen sulfide measurement by headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS): application to gaseous samples and gas dissolved in muscle.

The aim of our study was to present a new headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) method applicable to the routine determination of hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) concentrations in biological and gaseous samples. The primary analytical drawback of the GC/MS methods for H(2)S measurement discussed in the literature was the absence of a specific H(2)S internal standard required to perform quantification. Although a deuterated hydrogen sulfide (D(2)S) standard is currently available, this standard is not often used because this standard is expensive and is only available in the gas phase.

The interest of postmortem bacteriology in putrefied bodies.

A 27-year-old man was found dead in an advanced decomposition stage at home. On external examination, his body showed petechial hemorrhages of the skin. At autopsy, petechial hemorrhages of the epicardium were found, but no sign of meningitis was detected.

Geometric and harmonic study of the aging of the fourth rib.

One of the current reference methods, namely the Işcan method for estimating age at death, consists in the subjective observation of the sternal end of the fourth rib. In this study, we looked to identify the morphometric characteristics of the sternal end of the fourth rib that were most affected by aging by measuring them in an objective way. For this purpose, we collected measurements from the fourth rib tip of 414 French males and used mathematical algorithms derived from pattern recognition and signal processing to identify variables that reflect both geometric characteristics and serration patterns of the ribs.

Air, water, and surface bacterial contamination in a university-hospital autopsy room.

Today, little is known about the bacteriological environment of the autopsy room and its potential interest for medico-legal practices. Seven hundred fifty microbiological samples were taken from surface (n = 660), air (n = 48), and water (n = 42) to evaluate it in a French University Forensic Department. Median bacterial counts were compared before and during autopsy for air samples, and before and after autopsy for surface samples, using Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test.

Sudden death due to a cystic atrio-ventricular node tumour.

Sudden cardiac deaths constitute a major health problem. Most cases are attributed to cardiomyopathies, coronary artery diseases and functional dysregulations. Sudden death in an adult due to a primitive cardiac tumor is a rare occurrence.