Evaluation of organ weights and ventricular thicknesses in electrocution related deaths based on autopsy reports: A biophysical approach.

Objective: To evaluate autopsy reports of the deaths due to electrocution in terms of body mass index, body surface area, and organ weights with a biophysical perspective.

Methods: The retrospective study was conducted in Malatya, Turkiye, and comprised autopsy reports of electrocution cases that were obtained from the local branch of the Council of Forensic Medicine related to the period from 2012 to 2019. Organ weights and ventricular thicknesses were compared in terms of body mass index and body surface area.

Comparison of Cardiac Wall Thicknesses and Coronary Artery Obstructions Between Deaths Resulting From Acute Myocardial Infarction and Deaths From Other Causes.

Objective: The risk factors for myocardial infarction (MI) can be separated into three general categories: non-modifiable factors, modifiable risk factors, and lifestyle. This study aimed to investigate whether or not there was any effect of cardiac wall thickness and coronary artery obstructions on acute MI.

Methods: In this retrospective study of histopathological examinations of autopsies, two groups were formed.

Sex estimation using foramen magnum measurements, discriminant analyses and artificial neural networks on an eastern Turkish population sample.

Background: Although many studies have been conducted using the foramen magnum for sex estimation, recent findings have indicated that the discriminant and regression models obtained from the foramen magnum may not be reliable. Artificial Neural Networks, was used as a classification technique in sex estimation studies on some other bones, did not used in sex estimation studies on the foramen magnum until now. The aim of this study was sex estimation on an Eastern Turkish population sample using foramen magnum measurements, discriminant analyses and Artificial Neural Networks.

An examination of the sociodemographic and psychiatric characteristics of children who have suffered penetrative and non-penetrative sexual abuse in Malatya, Eastern Turkey.

Penetrative and nonpenetrative sexual abuse can cause short- and long-term psychiatric problems in victims. This study aimed to examine the sociodemographic characteristics and psychiatric diseases of children in Malatya, eastern Turkey, according to whether the abuse was penetrative or nonpenetrative. A retrospective examination was conducted on the records of 115 cases of sexual abuse that had been referred to judicial authorities from January 1, 2012-July 30, 2019.

An experimental rat model of electric shock injury with isolated electric shock and water conduction: the histopathological changes on the skin and internal organs and the effect on biochemical parameters.

It is difficult to determine the cause of death in electric shock injuries when no trace can be determined on the skin, and this is accepted as a reason for negative autopsy. We aimed to determine useful parameters in the definition of the cause of deaths associated with electric shock and particularly those formed with water conduction. This study used a total of 42 rats, applied with fatal electric shock formed of isolated electric shock at 220 V and with water conduction.

The Use of Handwriting Changes for the Follow-up of Patients with Bipolar Disorder.

Introduction: Patients with bipolar disorder have motor skill deficiency and cognitive dysfunction. It is suggested that these deficiencies are related to the neurodevelopmental course of the disease. The aim of this study was to examine whether or not there was a change in the handwriting of patients with bipolar disorder in periods of mania and remission.

Evaluation of Childhood Traumas, Depressive Symptoms, and Dissociative Experiences in Tinnitus Cases.

Objective: Tinnitus is described as the perceived sound without any external stimulus and is a common problem, but its mechanism is not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate childhood traumas and dissociative experiences, which may be predisposing factors in patients with tinnitus.

Methods: The study included 90 voluntary patients (45 patients with tinnitus and 45 in the control group) aged older than 18 years who applied to the otorhinolaryngology clinic between November 2018 and February 2019 and were diagnosed with subjective tinnitus.

Shaken baby syndrome resulting in death: a case series.

Background: The aim of this study was to raise the awareness of all healthcare personnel, primarily Emergency Department physicians, forensic physicians, and paediatricians about cases of shaken baby syndrome (SBS), which can be difficult to diagnose, require a high level of suspicion in diagnosis and there is a high likelihood of missed diagnosis.

Methods: A retrospective examination was made of 3400 forensic cases applied with autopsy between 2012 and 2018 to the Forensic Medicine Institution of Malatya Group Directorate.

Results: Of the total cases, 113 were aged < 2 years and head trauma was determined in 35.

Sudden death as a result of colon perforation; Ehlers-Danlos type IV case with postmortem diagnosis.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a connective tissue disease with heterogeneous subgroups. In type IV EDS, also known as vascular EDS (VEDS), the underlying genetic anomaly consists of a mutation of the COL3A1 gene encoding the type III procollagen. As a result of the mutation, pathological findings due to excessive brittleness of the tubular organs or vessels occur.

Evaluation of Incest Cases: 4-Years Retrospective Study.

Incest is specific type of sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic data and examination findings of cases referred to our hospital as forensic court cases of incest, and to measure the effect on mental health disorders of the nature of the sexual abuse. Retrospective examination was made of the records of 40 cases of incest victims.

Histopathological evaluation of autopsy cases with isolated pulmonary fat embolism (IPFE): is cardiopulmonary resuscitation a main cause of death in IPFE?

Fat embolism (FE) may develop following many traumatic and atraumatic clinical conditions; however, fewer data exist regarding the occurrence of isolated pulmonary FE (IPFE). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure for maintaining blood circulation and oxygenation during cardiac arrest. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association of CPR with IPFE in autopsy cases.

A rare case of fatal venous and cerebral air embolism.

A venous air embolism can occur as a result of circumstances that include blunt head or chest trauma, thoracentesis, arterial catheterization, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and Caisson disease. The formation of a venous air embolism requires an air source, interaction between the air source and the vessel, and a pressure gradient supporting air migration into the vessel. Air enters through the impaired venous structure and travels to the right side of the heart and the pulmonary arteries, and depending on the amount of air, may occasionally be fatal.

Traumatic thrombosis of internal carotid artery sustained by transfer of kinetic energy.

A 31-year-old male patient with a fatal thrombosis of the internal carotid artery caused by gun shot injury was presented in this case report. The patient was referred to the hospital with a diffuse edema on his left cheek. On otolaryngologic examination, there was a bullet entrance hole at the left mandibular corpus.

Forearm bones and sexual variation in Turkish population.

Forensic anthropologists are aware that there are considerable differences between human populations and therefore develop study models for each skeletal population. The purpose of this study was to analyze forearm bones obtained from forensic settings in Turkey. The sample consists of 42 males and 38 females with an average age of 40 and 36 years, respectively.

Investigation of lead mobilization from the buckshot residues to the critical organs.

Lead exposure causes neurotoxicity, reproductive system dysfunction, renal failure, and blood and endocrine system disorders in human and experimental animals. In this study, we investigated lead mobilization from gunshot fragments to the critical organs (brain, heart, liver, and kidney) and its interaction with essential trace elements on experimental rat model. Thirty-five rats were randomly divided in five groups.

Total body height estimation using sacrum height in Anatolian Caucasians: multidetector computed tomography-based virtual anthropometry.

Objective: Estimation of total body height is a major step when a subject has to be identified from his/her skeletal structures. In the presence of decomposed skeletons and missing bones, estimation is usually based on regression equation for intact long bones. If these bones are fragmented or missing, alternative structures must be used.

Foreigners dying in Istanbul.

The study included 411 deaths selected from 14,647 medicolegal deaths autopsied in the Morgue Department of Forensic Medicine Institute Directorate, affiliated with the Ministry of Justice, between 1998 and 2002. Data were collected from court documents, coroner's investigation reports, and autopsy reports. The parameters of age, gender, nationality and origin, cause and place of death in foreigners dying in Istanbul were evaluated in the study.

The informed consent status for surgery patients in eastern Turkey: a cross-sectional study.

This study assesses the quality of the informed consent process and satisfaction with the informed consent process, for surgery patients in Turkey. Four hundred and eighty three patients were interviewed after their surgeries. More than half of the patients were satisfied with the information on eight issues that pertained to the informed consent process.

The relationship between terrorist activities and cases of malaria in the eastern and south-eastern regions of Turkey, 1984-1998.

The objective of this study was to determine whether cases of malaria are related to terrorist activities that have occurred in the eastern and south-eastern regions of Turkey. Some of the determinants related to malaria have been investigated using a national dataset for 11 provinces located in these regions of Turkey. In these regions, both terrorist activity and cases of malaria were common from 1984 to 1998.

Reduced neuronal innervation in the distal end of the proximal esophageal atretic segment in cases of esophageal atresia with distal tracheoesophageal fistula.

Background: Esophageal dysmotility is a common occurence after surgical repair of proximal esophageal atresia (EA) and distal tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). The etiology of this motility disorder, however, remains controversial. Esophageal dysmotility also is present in isolated TEF or EA before surgery, suggesting a congenital cause.