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Micro computed tomography features of laryngeal fractures in a case of fatal manual strangulation
- Source :
- Legal Medicine. 18:85-89
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Cases of subtle fatal neck compression are often complicated by the lack of specificity of the post-mortem signs of asphyxia and by the lack of clear signs of neck compression. Herein we present a forensic case of a 45-year-old schizophrenic patient found on the floor of the bedroom of a psychiatric ward in cardiopulmonary arrest and who died after two days in a vegetative state. The deposition of the roommate of the deceased, who claimed responsibility for the killing of the victim by neck compression, was considered unreliable by the prosecutor. Autopsy, toxicological analyses, and multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT), micro computed tomography (micro-CT) and histology of the larynx complex were performed. Particularly, micro-CT analysis of the thyroid cartilage revealed the bilateral presence of ossified triticeous cartilages and the complete fragmentation of the right superior horn of the thyroid, but it additionally demonstrated a fracture on the contralateral superior horns, which was not clearly diagnosable at MSCT. On the basis of the evidence of intracartilaginous laryngeal hemorrhages and bilateral microfracture at the base of the superior horns of the larynx, the death was classified as a case of asphyxia due to manual strangulation. Micro-CT was confirmed as a useful tool in cases of subtle fatal neck compression, for the detection of minute laryngeal cartilage fractures, especially in complex cases with equivocal findings on MSCT.
- Subjects :
- Male
Manual strangulation
Larynx fractures
MSCT
Micro-CT
Larynx
Fractures, Cartilage
medicine.medical_specialty
Poison control
Autopsy
01 natural sciences
Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Issues
Neck Injuries
Asphyxia
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
medicine
Humans
Strangulation
Forensic Pathology
Hyoid Bone
Middle Aged
X-Ray Microtomography
2734
Issues, Ethics and Legal Aspects
030216 legal & forensic medicine
business.industry
Micro computed tomography
010401 analytical chemistry
Thyroid
Ethics and Legal Aspects
Larynx fracture
Thyroid cartilage
0104 chemical sciences
Surgery
Issues, ethics and legal aspects
Cartilage
medicine.anatomical_structure
Right superior
medicine.symptom
business
Fractures
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 13446223
- Volume :
- 18
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Legal Medicine
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6098b0ca3ddc18de8c0904014d47cfa9