Adipocere Formation in Subtropical Climate of Northern India: A Retrospective Study.

Adipocere formation depends upon multiple environmental factors. In comparison with temperate countries, it usually develops early in the subtropical climate. We have studied a retrospective data of 31 cases with adipocere formation at Department of Forensic Medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Accidental cut-throat injuries from the broken windshield of an auto rickshaw: Two unusual cases.

Accidental cut-throat injuries are extremely rare and usually involve a sharp-edged weapon. In this paper, two cases of a cut-throat wound to two auto-rickshaw drivers are presented where the broken windshield of the auto-rickshaws was responsible for the wounds. In both the cases, fatal incised wounds were present over the neck, cutting the soft tissue along with the major vessels.

Fatal carbon monoxide poisoning: A lesson from a retrospective study at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Background: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and nonirritating gas which makes it difficult for those who are exposed, to detect it, leading to unexpected death. This study was undertaken to see the pattern of fatal CO poisoning and to discuss preventive aspect.

Materials And Methods: It was a retrospective descriptive study of fatal CO cases which were autopsied at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, from the year 2010 to the year 2015.

Postmortem sperm retrieval in context of developing countries of Indian subcontinent.

There was a request for postmortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) from the wife of a deceased, but we had to decline. We have no guideline in place for the procedure in such cases. When we explored the international scenario on the issue of PMSR, we found that most of the developed countries have their guidelines about it, whether to allow or not to.

Bluish discolouration of stomach in dextropropoxyphene poisoning: an unusual finding at autopsy and discussion of differential diagnosis.

Many times at autopsy, on the basis of colour change of the stomach and intestinal mucosa, the forensic pathologist is able to suspect a particular nature of poisoning which leads to conclusive investigation of the case. An intense bluish discolouration of the gastric mucosa owing to capsule shell instead of the content is rarely encountered at autopsy. We report a case of fatal dextropropoxyphene poisoning, where gastric and small intestinal mucosa showed bluish discolouration owing to the gelatine capsule of the drug.

A rare case of homicidal insecticide (organochloro compound) poisoning by intraperitoneal injection.

We report a case of a 52-year-old businessman who was allegedly injected with organochloro compound (OC) in his abdomen by his business rivals by means of a surgical needle and a syringe. Homicide by OC injection via an intraperitoneal route has not been reported in the literature. Postmortem findings along with the toxicology report have been discussed particularly in view of the mode of poison administration with a review of literature.

Fatal lightning strikes in Malaysia.

Lightning strike is a natural phenomenon with potentially devastating effects and represents one of the important causes of deaths from environmental phenomena. Almost every organ system may be affected as lightning current passes through the human body taking the shortest pathways between the contact points. A 10 years retrospective study (1996-2005) was conducted at University Hospital Kuala Lumpur (20 cases) also including cases during last 3 years from Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang (7 cases) from the autopsy reports at Forensic Pathology Units of these 2 hospitals.

Maid abuse.

Domestic maid violence is an assault and coercive behaviour, which mainly includes physical, psychological and at times sexual too, by employer or household members of employer against a person hired as a domestic help. Maid abuse is well known but poorly documented in scientific literature. This is an important global issue.

Cystic tumor of papillary muscle of heart: a rare finding in sudden death.

Primary cystic tumors of papillary muscles of the heart are extremely rare. Here, one case of unusual cystic tumor in papillary muscle of the heart in a 37-year-old Myanmar migrant worker has been reported. He came to Malaysia 2 weeks before and one morning was found dead in sleep.

Tyre-blast injuries.

A teenager college student was fatally injured by burst tyre air pressure while waiting on a public bus stand to catch a bus to reach her college at Kuala Lumpur. She accidentally came near the wheel while boarding when tube and tyre got burst .The air pressure had blown the girl in the air and she subsequently fell on a rough surface.

Diabetic artefacts in forensic practice.

A case is presented where confusion arose about skin lesions and whether they were diabetic or electrical in origin. The deceased was a known diabetic and hypertensive man. A middle-aged person in early fifties was found unconscious in the cell and judicial autopsy was performed.

Choking on food: a rare case of alexander leukodystrophy and choking.

Every body has to eat to survive but it becomes a matter of great concern, when the life provider food becomes an asphyxiating agent. In this case, a 60-year-old woman choked herself while swallowing biscuits. On autopsy examination, biscuits were found lodged in larygo-pharynx.

Lightning fatality with blast, flame, heat and current effects: a macroscopic and microscopic view.

A case is presented of a fatal environmental accidental injuries of lightning. A pedestrian was struck by lightning. The macroscopic and microscopic lightning injuries are reviewed.

Condom-murder.

Condom-murder is term used to describe a homicide where a person has been killed due to his recreational sexual behaviour and the killing has strong links with the recovered condom/contraceptive material on the scene or was in personal possession of victim. It can provide immediate clue about perpetrator. We present six cases of a similar nature.

Giant cell myocarditis with cardiac tamponade: a rare combination.

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare but fatal disease of idiopathic origin. It results in focal necrosis of myocardium. This is a case report of middle aged Malaysian Indian female who died due to cardiac tamponade due to rupture myocardium and tear in the root of aorta.

Silent bony calcification of coronaries in an adolescent--an unusual case.

This is a case report of 16-year-old adolescent school boy who died due to unusual calcification of coronary arteries. He died while cycling with his friends. While cycling fast he fell.

Male genital ornaments: penis pearls.

In this article, five cases with pearls in penile skin are discussed. These cases were viewed from multiple angles as number, colour, position of pearls, socio-economic status, occupation, sexual behaviour, and the background of the individuals. The number of pearls varied from one to five in these cases.

Bandaged penis.

This is a case of a male in his late 30s who died due to acute myocardial ischemia. His penis was bandaged. The penis was inflamed and had infected abrasions.

Dramatic lightning injury with exit wound.

This is a case report of an environmental accident due to lightning where one school boy sustained current, blast, and flame effects of it. A bolt of lightning directly struck the pole of a football ground and the scatter struck the child. In addition to burn injuries, he showed an exit wound of lightning in left foot.

Study on arsenic level in public water supply of Delhi using hydride generator accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

Exposure to arsenic has been associated with several health hazards. Worldwide the main reason for chronic human intoxication with arsenic is intake of contaminated drinking water. Air acetylene type of atomic absorption spectrophotometer in combination with hydride generator accessory was used to analyze arsenic level in 25 water samples collected from 25 booster pumping stations and 313 water samples collected from tap water supply of 62 areas of Delhi.

Study on arsenic level in ground water of Delhi using hydride generator accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

Surveillance of drinking water is essentially a health measure intended to protect the public from water borne diseases. Hydride generator accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to analyze arsenic level in 49 ground water samples collected from different areas of Delhi. Arsenic level in ground water samples was in the range of 0.