False-Positive Rate for Suspected Drug-Related Deaths Following Full Autopsy.

The sharp increase in drug-related deaths has tempted medical examiner/coroner offices to perform external examinations with comprehensive toxicology testing instead of performing a standard autopsy. Compounding the problem of an increasing workload has been the decrease in available forensic pathologists. Opting for external examinations on suspected drug-related fatalities, however, is antithetical to current best practices.

Pituitary Lineage Differentiation from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in 2D and 3D Cultures.

Despite its small size, the pituitary gland plays a central role in the maintenance of normal homeostasis of most physiological systems through its regulation of the function of other endocrine glands. The complexity of the anterior pituitary gland, due to its composition of several different hormone-secreting cell types, begets a plethora of disorders and pathologies due primarily to hyposecretion or hypersecretion of hormones. The gonadotrophs, which make up less than 5% of the total number of cells in the anterior pituitary, serve to regulate gonad development and sexual reproduction in males and females.

Position Paper: Recommendations for the Investigation, Diagnosis, and Certification of Deaths Related to Opioid and Other Drugs.

The National Association of Medical Examiners convened an expert panel to update the association's evidence-based recommendations for investigating and certifying deaths associated with opioids and other misused substances to improve death certificate and mortality data for public health surveillance. The recommendations are as follows:1. Autopsy provides the best information on a decedent's medical condition for optimal interpretation of toxicology results, circumstances surrounding death, medical history, and scene findings.

Hyperoxalosis Secondary to Intravenous Vitamin C Administration as a Non-Allopathic Treatment for Cancer.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has long been known to have antioxidant properties, with associated claims that it can boost the immune system, fight off infection, and help in the treatment of cancer. Similar to many other over-the-counter and herbal medicines, vitamin C can cause potential side effects with significant morbidity and rarely mortality. We discuss a case of an elderly woman with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung that was treated with several rounds of allopathic chemotherapy; however, treatment was stopped because of worsening quality of life and disease progression.

Forensic Radiology Pitfalls: CT Imaging in Gunshot Wounds of the Head.

Computed tomography (CT) imaging is increasingly used in emergency departments and trauma services and is being offered as a supplemental tool with autopsy in coroner's and medical examiner's offices throughout the United States. The availability of CT images in lieu of traditional X-rays for medicolegal autopsies may lead to misinterpretation of images for forensic pathologists who are not familiar with these types of images. Forensic pathologists must become familiar with CT imaging, the basis of CT image formation and how to interpret CT images appropriately.

Impact of identity theft on methods of identification.

Responsibility for confirming a decedent's identity commonly falls on the shoulders of the coroner or medical examiner. Misidentification of bodies results in emotional turmoil for the next-of-kin and can negatively impact the coroner's or medical examiner's career. To avoid such mishaps, the use of scientific methods to establish a positive identification is advocated.

X-ray appearance of subcutaneous gemstones as part of alternative/holistic medicine: a case report and review of the literature.

The authors present a case of a deceased man with numerous subcutaneous nodules identified as foreign bodies on radiographic films. The foreign bodies were gemstones inserted underneath the skin as a form of holistic medicine. The X-ray findings of this case and a review of the literature for similar subcutaneously implanted foreign bodies used in holistic, alternative, or folk medicine are presented.

"Med-X": a medical examiner surveillance model for bioterrorism and infectious disease mortality.

We created a model surveillance system (Med-X) designed to enable medical examiners and coroners to recognize fatal infections of public health importance and deaths due to bioterrorism. All individuals who died in New Mexico and fell under medical examiner jurisdiction between November 23, 2000, and November 22, 2002, were prospectively evaluated using sets of surveillance symptoms and autopsy-based pathologic syndromes. All infectious disease deaths were evaluated to identify the specific causative agent.

Coronal cleft vertebra initially suspected as an abusive fracture in an infant.

A case of a four-month-old male infant is described who was found unresponsive at home and brought to the emergency room. He lived for four days. During his hospital admission he was diagnosed by radiography with a fracture of the third lumbar vertebra that was presumed abusive in nature.