The article presents a case from the practice of the Serpukhov Department of the Bureau of Forensic Medicine, when for the first time on the territory of the Russian Federation in the event of a criminal death of a child from mechanical asphyxiation in a district forensic department, the computed tomography of the corpse was used (virtual autopsy) with subsequent radiological-anatomical comparison of the results.

The article presents a case from the practice of Serpukhov forensic medical department of SBIH MR “Bureau of FME”, when in the case of death of two pilots of a light airplane as a result of an aviation injury the method of computer tomography of corpses (virtual autopsy) was applied, followed by X-ray anatomical comparison of the results.

The article discusses the application of pre-autopsy computed tomography (Virtopsy) for studying the sudden death of an adolescent with undiagnosed Marfan syndrome.Aim. To identify the capabilities of the pre-autopsy computed tomography (CT) in determining the cause of the sudden death of an adolescent, as well as the extent of injuries, if present.Material and methods. A CT scan was obtained at the Department of Diagnostic Radiology of a district hospital using a modern multifunctional CT scanner Siemens SOMATOM Perspective (64-slice configuration, slice width of 1.5 mm).Results. The forensic medical examination revealed the following information about the corpse: asthenic body type, a height of 178 cm, long extremities, thin and long spider-like fingers, pectus excavatum, little fat beneath the skin and poor muscle development; blood in the pericardium, rupture of the dissecting aneurysm of the ascending aorta. The histological examination of the aorta revealed its dramatic thinning, fragmentation of the elastic fibres along with the alteration of the elastic framework, fragmentation and poor development of muscle fibres in the media. A CT scan showed the rupture of the dissecting aneurysm of the ascending thoracic aorta with para-aortic haematoma and cardiac tamponade.Conclusion. The analysis of obtained data allowed us to diagnose a multisystemic disorder of connective tissue (Marfan syndrome) undiagnosed intra vitam. The sudden death was caused by the rupture of the dissecting aneurysm of the ascending aorta which is a complication of the congenital genetic pathology.Intravitam CT or MRI scans of children being at risk of the multisystemic disorder of connective tissue will help detect pathological changes in the aortic wall and perform cardiac surgery promptly which would significantly increase the length of life and improve its quality for such patients.

Postmortem computer tomography (CT) came into practice of forensic medicine in the 1990s and has later been complemented with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A pioneer virtual autopsy was conducted in Germany in 1983. In the Czech Republic, this examination was first performed in 1993.A typical examination requires about 30 min, with the most resource-demanding stage being the image data rendering. CT was shown to better capture skeletal structures, while MRI contrasting is superior in terms of visualising soft tissues. In the Czech Republic, CT-based virtopsy is legislated mandatory to document deaths inflicted by gunshots, road traffic and aviation accidents, high falls, occupational and explosive-related injuries, thermal and mechanical traumas, strangulation, drowning as well as to examine unidentified or decomposing bodies, deceased children and adolescents aged under 18.CT scanning prior to conventional autopsy provides a forensic expert with guidance to reveal pathologies non-invasively in particular regions that are difficult to dissect or access. The advantage of virtopsy is the objective acquisition of data that can be re-examined, reinterpreted or juxtaposed with the results of conventional autopsy and easily recovered for possible further expertise. 

The article is dedicated to a rare case of spontaneous rupture of the pathologically altered left common iliac vein which was a late complication of the cava filter placement. To date this complication has not been described in the national medical literature. In foreign literature only 21 cases of spontaneous rupture of the iliac vein with unclear cause were registered. The article presents a case observed in the practice of the Bureau of forensic medical examination of the Moscow region. It was found that on he background of a number of conditions (occlusion of the inferior vena cava; pathological changes in the venous wall, taking into account its anatomical location; immobilized state of the patient; lack of adequate anticoagulant therapy; predisposing factors in the form of muscle tension) spontaneous rupture of the left common iliac vein should be considered as one of the late cava filter placement complications.Conclusion. Thus, the authors of the article have established the causes of spontaneous rupture of the iliac vein, as well as proposed the inclusion of this pathology in the official list of the late cava filter placement complications.