Radiographs interpretation by forensic pathologists: a word of warning.

In child deaths investigation, radiologic examination is particularly important in the diagnosis of child abuse. In the province of Quebec, Canada, all autopsies for suspicious deaths are performed at a centralized forensic laboratory where, because of budget restrictions, forensic pathologists rely on their own knowledge for radiographs interpretations. To assess the validity of this radiologic examination by nonradiologist forensic specialist, we reviewed all cases of child death on a 1-year period.

Jivaro tsantsas or shrunken head: an expertise of authenticity evaluation.

Forensic scientists sometimes apply knowledge and modern techniques to various historical challenges. Reported here is an unusual expertise of a shrunken head authenticity evaluation. Tsantsas, or shrunken head, are an ancient traditional technique of the Jivaro Indians from Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador.

Discrimination of falls and blows in blunt head trauma: systematic study of the hat brim line rule in relation to skull fractures.

In the discrimination of falls from blows in blunt head trauma, the hat brim line rule is one of the most often used criteria. The present study assesses the validity of the hat brim line rule for skull fractures and looks at other possible criteria. All autopsy cases were retrospectively analyzed on a 5-year period.

Child and adolescent victims in forensic autopsy: a 5-year retrospective study.

Children of more than 3 years of age and adolescents have been largely overlooked in the forensic literature, especially the 4-9 age group. Thus, the present study was undertaken to address this particular issue of child and adolescent victims in forensic autopsies. On a 5-year period (2000-2004) in Quebec province (Canada), all forensic autopsy cases of children and adolescents from 4 to 19 years of age were retrospectively studied.

Cerebral traumatism with a playground rocking toy mimicking shaken baby syndrome.

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS), one of the most deadly and devastating forms of child abuse, is caused by violent shaking. The combination of subdural hematoma, retinal hemorrhage, brain swelling, and diffuse axonal injury is highly typical of this syndrome and faced with these autopsy findings, induced traumatic lesions are strongly considered. However, it is known that motor-vehicle accidents and falls from great height can also produce this pattern of injury.

Tameshi-giri, or Japanese sword test-cutting: a historic overview.

The martial Japanese history is characterized by the development of a particular samurai sword known as the katana. It was believed that this sword was the reflection of the warrior's soul, and thus it had to be tested to estimate its sharpness, efficiency, and cutting ability. A variety of cutting tests was done on animals and bamboos, but some were also carried out on human beings.

Deaths in a head-down position: a case report and review of the literature.

Deaths in a head-down position, mostly accidental events, are rare deaths in which a victim is found in an inverted body posture, with marked congestion of dependent body parts and no definite pathoanatomical cause of death. Such an exclusion diagnosis can only be put forward after elimination of other possible causes of death, following a scene investigation, medical record review, complete autopsy, and toxicological analysis. Particular attention should be taken not to confuse deaths by head-down position from the more usual positional asphyxia.

Traumatic heart perforation by a D5 osteophyte: a case report.

Osteophytes are bony outgrowths usually found in the context of osteoarthritis and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Even if they are usually asymptomatic, they may present with complications such as spinal stenosis, myelopathy and radiculopathy. We here present the case of a 56-year-old woman found dead from a homicidal traumatic heart perforation by a D5 osteophyte.

Utility of the caput succedaneum in the forensic investigation of neonaticide: a case report.

Suspicion of neonaticide often leads to a request for a forensic autopsy. In that setting, it is important to correlate autopsy findings with the history given by the mother. So far, caput succedaneum has not raised interest in forensic pathology.

Complex autoerotic death with full body wrapping in a plastic body bag.

Autoerotic deaths are normally classified as accidental deaths occurring during individual, and usually solitary, sexual activity in which a device, apparatus, or prop used to enhance sexual stimulation of the deceased somehow causes unintended death. The most common methods of autoerotic practices are asphyxia by hanging, ligature, plastic bag, chemical substances, or a mixture of these. However, atypical methods such as overdressing/body wrapping have also been reported.

Brain arteriovenous malformation and its implication in forensic pathology.

Despite the fact that brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) are a possible cause of sudden and unexplained death, very few papers have discussed their importance in the forensic context. BAVMs consist of tangled masses of tortuous arteries and veins devoid of intervening capillaries that frequently extend from brain parenchyma into the subarachnoid space. Apart from BAVMs, three major groups of vascular malformations of the brain are known: cavernous hemangioma, venous angioma, and capillary telangiectasia.

Female autoerotic deaths--still often overlooked: a case report.

Female autoerotic deaths are less common than male ones and usually present in a less obvious way. Thus, such deaths can be easily overlooked, even by senior investigators, if the latter are not fully aware of the particularities of female autoerotic cases. We present the case of a 34-year-old woman, found dead in her apartment, with several foreign body insertions and a dog leash around the neck.

Fatal asphyxia by a thyroglossal duct cyst in an adult.

Thyroglossal duct cysts arise from remnants of embryonic thyroglossal duct that connects the foramen cecum at the base of the tongue to the thyroid gland. The remnants enlarge secondary to secretions from the epithelial lining. Usually, thyroglossal cysts present as non-tender masses.

Autoerotic deaths in the literature from 1954 to 2004: a review.

Autoerotic death by hanging or ligature is a method of autoeroticism well known by forensic pathologists. In order to analyze autoerotic deaths of nonclassic hanging or ligature type, this paper reviews all published cases of autoerotic deaths from 1954 to 2004, with the exclusion of homicide cases or cases in which the autoerotic activity was not solitary. These articles were obtained through a systematic Medline database search.

Aqua-eroticum: an unusual autoerotic fatality in a lake involving a home-made diving apparatus.

The term Aqua-eroticum was first introduced in 1984 by Sivaloganathan to describe the unusual autoerotic death of a man using submersion as an asphyxia method. This was the first case of that kind, and since then, no other case of autoerotic submersion has been reported, nor other autoerotic fatality in open water. Here we report the case of a 25-year-old man, nude under a home-made plastic body suit, overdressed for the season with winter clothes and restrained by complex bondage.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia mimicking rape homicide: a case report.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), also known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, is a known cause of sudden unexplained death in young, otherwise healthy adults. In the forensic setting, several cases of fatal ARVC have been reported, mostly occurring during physical exercise. However, a very few cases present where the death scene is mistaken for a homicide.