Massive gas embolisms in diving fatalities visualized by radiology and neuropathology.

Massive vascular gas embolism is a feared and often lethal symptom of decompression illness, resulting from diving accidents. The aim of this case report was to correlate post-mortem computed tomography scan (PMCT) findings with autopsy in cases of massive vascular gas embolism. Two cases of fatal diving accidents were retrospectively selected from a forensic radiological pathological database.

Fracture patterns of the hyoid-larynx complex after fatal trauma on the neck: retrospective radiological postmortem analysis of 284 cases.

Purpose: Fatal trauma on the neck occurs frequent in forensic cases and often results in fractures of the hyoid-larynx complex. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of fractures in the hyoid-larynx complex that occur due to fatal trauma on the neck and can be observed by radiological evaluation.

Methods: Radiological images from a forensic radiological database created in -BLINDED- were used for analysis.

Prevalence of Pulmonary Bullae and Blebs in Postmortem CT Imaging With Potential Implications for Diving Medicine.

Background: Pulmonary bullae and blebs can result in a pneumothorax. Their prevalence in the normal population is currently unknown. Postmortem CT (PMCT) images from a forensic database were used to determine the prevalence of pulmonary bullae/blebs in the normal Dutch adult population and its consequence for diving medicine, as bullae and blebs are often considered a contraindication for diving.

Variants of the hyoid-larynx complex, with implications for forensic science and consequence for the diagnosis of Eagle's syndrome.

Thorough anatomic knowledge of the hyoid-larynx complex is necessary for forensic radiologists and ear-nose-throat surgeons, given the many anatomic variations that originate in embryology. In forensics the anomalies must be distinguished from fractures because the latter are indicative of violence on the neck. In this manuscript we describe the anatomical variations that can be found in the hyoid-larynx complex and explain their etiology.

The value of post-mortem computed tomography of burned victims in a forensic setting.

Objectives: Fire deaths are challenging fatalities for forensic pathologists, as the main question of whether death was due to the fire or not needs to be answered. In this retrospective study, we assessed whether post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) has an added value prior to a forensic autopsy of burned victims.

Methods: From 2008 to 2016, a PMCT was performed in 50 burned corpses prior to a complete forensic autopsy.

Postmortem radiological case series of acetabular fractures after fatal aviation accidents.

The purpose of this study was to describe radiological fracture patterns of the acetabulum sustained after fatal small aircraft aviation accidents, aiming at facilitating a better understanding of trauma mechanisms in a forensic setting. Postmortem conventional radiographs or CT scans of 29 victims of 20 small aircraft aviation accidents were analyzed for skeletal acetabular trauma. Among the 29 fatalities (27 males and 2 females, median age 55 years (range: 21-76 years)), 20 victims had pelvic fractures (69%), of which 19 victims (66%) had one or more acetabular fractures.

The development of the human hyoid-larynx complex revisited.

Objectives/hypothesis: The hyoid-larynx complex is highly prone to anatomical variation. The etiology of anatomical variants such as Eagle's syndrome and the aberrant hyoid apparatus can be explained from embryonic development. Modern textbooks state that the hyoid bone body develops from the second and third pharyngeal arch cartilages, and that thyroid cartilage derives from the fourth and sixth arch cartilages.

The vanishing duodenal polyp: mesenteric invagination presenting as duodenal pseudopolyp.

Duodenal polypoid masses are an uncommon finding mainly diagnosed incidentally at endoscopy or surgery. We report a 39-year-old female patient with symptoms of intermittent stabbing pain in the upper right abdominal quadrant and an iron deficiency anaemia, without complaints of weight loss, haematemesis or melaena. A duodenal polyp and acute duodenitis have been described during endoscopic examinations and CT and ultrasound.

The radiodensity of cerebrospinal fluid and vitreous humor as indicator of the time since death.

Purpose: After death, a series of changes occur naturally in the human body in a fairly regular pattern. These postmortem changes are detectable on postmortem CT scans (PMCT) and may be useful in estimating the postmortem interval (PMI). The purpose of our study is to correlate the PMCT radiodensities of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and vitreous humor (VH) to the PMI.

Radiological analysis of hand and foot injuries after small aircraft crashes.

Medico-legal investigation of fatal aviation accidents should contribute to the reconstruction of the accident in addition to providing the usual information about cause and manner of death. In cases with more than one fatality, the question of who was flying the plane at the time of the crash may need to be answered. In such cases the identification of "control injuries" plays an important role.