Medico-legal approach to sexual assault victims: the Belgian situation.

Clinical forensic medicine is a relatively new discipline in Belgium although (sexual) violence has been around for centuries. A brief overview of the Belgian legal system and the way it interacts with forensic medicine is presented, with special emphasis on the investigation of complainants of sexual violence. The epidemiology of sexual violence in Belgium is discussed together with the procedures that were developed by the government to standardise the medical examination of sexual assault victims.

delta-Storage pool disease: a pitfall in the forensic investigation of sudden anal blood loss in children: a case report.

We present the case of a 3.5-year-old boy with sudden anal blood loss at school. Sexual abuse was suspected, and, apart from anal fissures seen on sigmoidoscopy, no other clinical signs of any sort of disorder were present.

Amphetamine toxicity in the emergency department.

XTC and other amphetamines are considered to be safe by the majority of partying young people who are unaware of (or unwilling to know about) the acute and chronic toxicity of these substances, and these drugs are widespread, illicit stimulants. In this article, we describe four cases of severe acute toxicity due to recreational use of amphetamines 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 4-methylthioamphetamine or p-methoxyamphetamine, with emphasis on the presenting symptoms and acute treatment in the emergency department.

Desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma: a potentially malignant tumor?

Desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma is a rare intracranial tumor of early childhood with a usually excellent prognosis despite malignant features both radiologically and histologically. We present the case of a desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma with histologically highly anaplastic features and both intracerebral and pial metastases. After partial resection the tumor was rapidly progressive and new metastases appeared.

Forensic approach of fatal dog attacks: a case report and literature review.

Over 1 million dog bites occur every year in the USA, however, fatal dog bites are rare and mostly affect children under 4 years of age and old people. Usually pet dogs are involved and only recently has public awareness of this health problem increased. As an example of a forensic approach we present the case of a 6-year-old girl who was killed by the three pet Rottweilers of her father.