Introduction Post-mortem rigidity of the tissues is one of the basic principles in forensic medicine to estimate the time of death. Qualitative methods to determine the stiffness of the corpse may have some limitations. Methods that provide quantitative values may be useful. We intended to evaluate the applicability of ultrasound shear-wave elastography of the tissues to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI). Methods For 80 corpses, shear-wave elastography of the liver, sartorius muscle, testis, thyroid and parotid was performed before autopsy. Based on the forensic reports as the reference method to define post-mortem interval, the corpses were divided into four groups: group 0 (PMI < 24 hours), group 1 (PMI ≥24 hours and <48 hours), group 2 (PMI ≥ 48 hours and <72 hours), and group 3 (PMI ≥ 72 hours). There were 24, 38, 13, and 5 corpses, respectively, in groups 0, 1, 2, and 3. Results A significant rise in the elasticity values in comparison to elasticity of normal tissues in live adults was seen very early in the post-mortem period. Between-group comparisons showed that a significant difference in the liver elasticity was present among the groups. The mean (SD) liver elasticity was 10.29 (±0.83) in group 0, 14.98 (±1.56) in group 1, 12.49 (±1.09) in group 2, and 15.64 (±1.68) kilopascals (kPa) in group 3 ( P = 0.035). Nevertheless, elasticity measurements in other tissues were not helpful in distinguishing post-mortem interval groups. Conclusion It is possible to use liver quantitative shear-wave elastography to estimate the time of death.

Background: There are five different kinds of death; natural death due to any disease, accidental death, suicidal death, homicidal death, and undetermined death. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the major causes of death based on the autopsied reports to aid the development of preventive strategies. Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study consisting of autopsy reports of all suicidal, homicidal and occupational deaths recorded in all forensic medicine dissection halls in thirty-two provinces of Iran from March 2011 to March 2015. A questionnaire was designed containing all the information required for our studies such as gender, age, cause of death, and the autopsy reports. Results: There were 19288 suicides, 11655 homicides, and 8558 occupational deaths during five years. Among suicidal deaths, there were seventy percent male and thirty percent female. Most victims (about 22%) were between 18 to 24 years old (Mean age ± SD: 33.1 ± 13.1 years). The highest cases of suicide were 52% hanging, and 25% poisoning, respectively. Among homicidal victims, there were 18% males and 20% females. Most victims were between 25 to 29 years old (24%) (Mean age ± SD: 32.4 ± 15.6 years). The most common methods were 46% firearms, and 29% stab wounds, respectively. Among occupational deaths happened in 99% of males and 1% of females. The most common victims' age-group was 30-39 years old (25%) (Mean age ± SD: 35.8 ± 10.3 years). Seventy-four percent of cases were caused by blunt trauma as a result of falling from a height. The second common cause of death was Electrocution (21% of the cases). Conclusions: The analysis of the causes of suicidal, homicidal, occupational deaths, can aid the development of preventive strategies to decrease the occurrence of these kinds of preventable deaths in Iran.