One of the classic mistakes in forensic pathology is to regard the autopsy of decomposed body as unrewarding. The present study was undertaken with a view to debunk this myth and to determine the characteristic pattern in decomposed bodies brought for medicolegal autopsy. From a total of 4997 medicolegal deaths reported at an Apex Medical Centre, Yeotmal, a rural district of Maharashtra over seven year study period, only 180 cases were decomposed, representing 3.6% of the total medicolegal autopsies with the rate of 1.5 decomposed body/100,000 population per year. Male (79.4%) predominance was seen in decomposed bodies with male female ratio of 3.9:1. Most of the victims were between the ages of 31 and 60 years with peak at 31-40 years (26.7%) followed by 41-50 years (19.4%). Older age above 60 years was found in 8.6% cases. Married (64.4%) outnumbered unmarried ones in decomposition. Most of the decomposed bodies were complete (83.9%) and identified (75%). But when the body was incomplete/mutilated or skeletonised then 57.7% of the deceased remains unidentified. The cause and manner of death was ascertained in 85.6% and 81.1% cases respectively. Drowning (35.6%) was the commonest cause of death in decomposed bodies with suicide (52.8%) as the commonest manner of death. Decomposed bodies were commonly recovered from open places (43.9%), followed by water sources (43.3%) and enclosed place (12.2%). Most of the decomposed bodies were retrieved from well (49 cases) followed by barren land (27 cases) and forest (17 cases). 83.8% of the decomposed bodies were recovered before 72 h and only in 16.2% cases the time since death was more than 72 h, mostly recovered from barren land, forest and river. Most of the decomposed bodies were found in summer season (42.8%) with peak in the month of May. Despite technical difficulties in handling the body and artefactual alteration of the tissue, the decomposed body may still reveal cause and manner of death in significant number of cases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2011.01.009 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Landscape Architecture, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 159 Dąbrowskiego Street, Poznań, 60-594, Poland.
As a result of human activities, surface waters worldwide are experiencing increasing levels of eutrophication, leading to more frequent occurrences of microalgae, including harmful algal blooms. We aimed to investigate the impact of decomposing camelina straw on mixed phytoplankton communities from eutrophic water bodies, comparing it to the effects of barley straw. The research was carried out in 15 aquaria (five of each type - containing no straw, camelina straw, and barley straw).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Legal Med
November 2024
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 2066 Seobu- ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, 16419, Republic of Korea.
Human body decomposition significantly damages DNA, particularly short tandem repeats used in DNA profiling. In degraded samples, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is used for aiding identification, utilizing hard tissues such as bones as DNA sources. However, extracting DNA from these tissues is complex and time-consuming.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransplant Proc
December 2024
Department of Human Anatomy, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address:
Background: In recent decades, China has experienced a shortage of donated bodies and organs for dissection during medical education and clinical transplantation. This study investigated and analyzed motivational factors affecting body and organ donation in China.
Methodology: Thirty-three body and organ donation volunteers were interviewed in-depth, and their donation motivations were investigated.
Cureus
October 2024
Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Maebashi, JPN.
Forensic Sci Int
December 2024
Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area, Pathology Unit, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, Bari 70121, Italy. Electronic address:
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