Legal Medicine最新文献

Using human cardiac blood from forensic autopsy cases, comprehensive measurements of albumin, vitamins A, B1, B6, B12, C, D, folate, and PIVKA-Ⅱ were performed. Of 128 cases, 83 were male, with an average age of 61.8 years and average postmortem interval of 44 h. The average concentrations of vitamins were 29.8 μg/dL for vitamin A, 32.2 μg/dL for vitamin B1, 278 ng/mL for vitamin B6 (pyridoxamine), 152 ng/mL for vitamin B6 (pyridoxal), 57.2 ng/mL for vitamin B6 (pyridoxal), 17.9 ng/mL for folate, 1188 pg/mL for vitamin B12, 23.5 μg/mL for vitamin C, 15.0 ng/mL for vitamin D, and 1.03 μg/mL for PIVKA-Ⅱ. An autopsy case of a Japanese middle-aged male with beriberi was also presented, where severe edema and effusion of the cavity and a high NT-proBNP serum value were observed; however, cardiac pathology showed no specific abnormal features. In the present case, the blood vitamin B1 concentration was within the standard clinical range. This study revealed that bloodborne water-soluble vitamin levels shows higher to clinical standard value at postmortem, whereas fat-soluble vitamin levels may stay in the standard range or lower. Our findings suggest that postmortem water-soluble vitamin concentrations within the clinical standard may reflect low antemortem vitamin concentrations.

This case presents a unique age estimation involving Chinese Tibetan twins, where one of them has been arrested for alleged rape. His parents claimed he was about 13 years old without providing any official age documentation. Since age is important in criminal proceedings in China, bone age estimation was conducted to determine the chronological age of the twins. The twins underwent a physical examination, X-rays of the left hand/wrist, and pelvis, and a CT scan of the clavicle. Two age estimation standards in China were used: "Skeletal Maturity and Assessment Methods of Hand and Wrist for Chinese" (China-05 standard), and "Technical Specifications for Skeletal Age Evaluation of Han Population Teenagers" (TSSHPT standard). The bone radiographs showed that most of the twins' epiphyseal development was similar, with only slight differences observed in the distal radius, distal ulna, and iliac crest apophysis. The results of the two methods showed differences in the range of predicted ages. Applying the RUS-CHN method to hand/wrist images, the estimated age of the suspect was determined to be 16-16.5 years old, while his brother's age was 15.5-16 years old. Applying the TSSHPT standard to all three images, the estimated age of the suspect was 17-17.5 years old, while his brother's age was estimated to be 16.5-17 years old. In this case, two commonly used methods for age estimation were introduced. The disparity in age estimations using the RUS-CHN and TSSHPT standards, with the age of the suspect ranging from 16 to 17.5 years. This case revealed that the choice of bone age estimation method can significantly impact the result of estimated age, which has important implications for legal proceedings. Additionally, the minor differences in skeletal maturity between the twins emphasize the need to account for individual variations, even among genetically similar individuals. Furthermore, this case contributes to the broader discourse on the effectiveness of skeletal age estimation methods across diverse populations, underscoring the necessity for tailored evaluation standards that consider genetic and environmental diversity.

The focus is on unnatural death in forensic pathology including criminal death. One special field is the murder-suicide or homicide-suicide. It is a relatively rare occurrence worldwide mainly with male perpetrators and female victims. The authors report a case about a special type of homicide-suicide which is so-called intimate partner homicide (femicide)-suicide in which the victim was a 42-year-old woman with more than 55 incised- (cuts, stabs, etc.) and blunt force injuries with external examination. The resuscitation was unsuccessful by the paramedics. Not one of the wounds was incompatible with life, some of them had life-threatening conditions, and numerous self-defense type of wounds were observed. Not so far from the crime scene, the 48-year-old perpetrator's hanging corpse was found on a high voltage electric column who previously committed suicide, talked to one of his daughters from his first marriage, left money at his funeral, and asserted he would not have gone to prison again. The authors compared this case with the international literature data.

A common forensic problem is cervical fractures, which sometimes need to be diagnosed only by physical examination of the body, without imaging or autopsy. Despite reports from clinical practice describing the association between cervical fractures and head injury, we could not find any analysis of autopsy cases. In addition, discussion of the cervical fracture diagnosis by postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) appears limited. This study aimed to examine autopsy and PMCT findings and explore valid methods for the diagnosis. We analyzed autopsy cases of cervical fractures during the 7 years before (2004-2010) and after (2014-2020) the PMCT introduction in our department. In 2014-2020, 67 autopsy cases with cervical fractures were recorded, of which 61 (91 %) were related to blunt injury to the head. Those with cervical fractures had a significantly higher incidence of blunt injury to the head (p < 0.001), particularly "forehead" and "face" injury, which accounted for > 50 % of cases. Of the external forces on the neck, "extension" accounted for 82.1 %. The cervical fracture-positive rate in all autopsy cases increased significantly from 11 (4.0 %) in 2004-2010 to 67 (8.2 %) in 2014-2020 (p = 0.021). From December 2015 to December 2020, when "cervical retroflexion" imaging was actively performed in PMCT, the cervical fracture diagnosis rate increased significantly from 57.1 % in the cervical normal position to 81.0 % with the addition of "cervical retroflexion" position (p = 0.021). Blunt head injury and PMCT in the "cervical retroflexion" position may be useful in the diagnosis of cervical fractures.