Background: In forensic pathology, asphyxia presents a problem as frequently as it is thorny and challenging. Some knowledge in forensic pathology is still considered to be traditionally acquired and is not critically assessed with modern statistical or technical tools. In this study, we seek to examine the injuries that are considered to be typical of cases of hanging (neck lesions, haemorrhages, and pleural and epicardial petechiae).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFForensic autopsy is an important tool for the proper management of non-natural deaths in minors. However, it seems that autopsy in minors is a practice which may not be performed routinely. In this framework, we conducted a study analyzing autopsies of minors (under 18 years of age in Italy) performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Milan in the period 2001-2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVascular injuries that occur during traffic accidents are a commonly neglected aspect that can add more detail to the framework of a case. In this study, we analysed a case series of 150 traffic accidents, 39 of which were marked by microscopically identifiable vascular lesions. The purpose was to identify the presence of carotid injuries in individuals who died due to traffic accidents and had nonpenetrating trauma of the neck.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Over the past years medical centres specifically addressed in gender-based violence have developed protocols for the collections of evidence useful in the courtroom, including accurate documentation of physical and psychological states of the victim and collection of samples. Previous studies showed an association between documented physical trauma and conviction but unfortunately, few studies in the recent literature analysed the factors that influence the legal outcome and final judgement. The present study focused on the elements that appeared of significance in the legal outcome, including medico-legal evaluation, source of the crime report and circumstance of the assault.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe interpretation of cranial base injuries has never been investigated from a purely anthropological perspective. Very little exists in forensic literature in order to interpret the significance of cranial base fractures. We analyzed 296 cases of deaths due to skull-brain injuries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe retention of gauze within the mediastinum is considered an exceptional finding. We are presenting the case of a woman, affected by aorto-mitral valvulopathy, in whose mediastinum was found, during the autopsy, a gauzome without signs of active phlogosis, which had been "forgotten" in a previous surgery, acted 14 years before the death. A 39 y.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Leg J
June 2019
Literature on electrocution in Italy is limited. The authors have focused their attention on the use of scanning electron microscope/energy-dispersive X-ray analysis in order to evaluate the current mark even on paraffin-embedded samples. A total of 24,104 autopsies were performed at the Section of Legal Medicine of Milan (1993-2017); all cases of death caused by electrocution (low and high voltage) were selected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Forensic Sci
March 2016
Plastic Bag Suffocation is a rare cause of death in developed countries and almost unknown in the rest of the world. This study aims to retrospectively evaluate cases of PBS _asphyxia in Milan's Department of Legal Medicine from 1993 to 2013. Cases were selected from the database of 21,472 autopsies performed in the considered timeframe.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe inflammatory involvement of vital organs may represent a dangerous and life-threatening situation: in particular, the inflammation of the myocardial tissue of the heart may lead to severe consequences since the clinical history of the disease may be completely asymptomatic, any clinical sign may be lacking, thus preventing correct diagnosis and treatment. This may occur even in the case of myocarditis and may lead to unexpected death whose cause can be assessable only by means of a thorough histopathological examination. The article reports the case of 61-year old female who developed a flu-like syndrome with very few symptoms, followed by sudden death in three weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article presents a case of patricide. The murder was characterised by multiple blunt traumas and asphyxia. A mass of contused wounds was localised to the head and neck, and included the complete avulsion of the left eye (by an unknown tool), which was recovered near the cadaver.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA common form of violence against women is sexual coercion on the part of their husbands/partners, the uncontrollable effects of which can lead to extreme consequences, as in the case of uxoricide examined in this report. It involved a 59-year-old female alcoholic, under observation on the part of social services as the possible victim of abuse by her husband, an amputee with a transtibial prosthesis. The woman had never admitted to her social workers that her husband was abusing her.
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