Knight's Forensic Pathology

Owing to the scanty evidence on usefulness of information of appearance of gray hair for age estimation, this study was conducted to estimate age based on the appearance of gray hair on different body sites in a sample of autopsy cases in Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Teaching Hospital-Kurunegala during 2011 to 2013. Based on the pattern of the presence of gray hair in different body sites, six stages of gray hair were computed. The analysis 1155 autopsy cases revealed strong, positive correlations between age and appearance of gray hair in head, mustache, beard, and pubic area among males and strong, positive correlations between age and the appearance of gray hair in head and pubic area among females (p < 0.01). Our findings demonstrate the value of information of appearance of gray hair for age estimation in the field of forensic science.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age Estimation Based on Appearance of Gray Hair in Different Body Sites of Sri Lankan Autopsy Cases

Senanayake¹,

Wickramasinghe

2016

“…The deposition of soot and smoke in fresh samples has been observed and studied: it encircles the entrance wound in closerange shots and can be found in the depth of the tissues and on the bone (as well as gunshot residues and crucial constituents of soot and powder grains leaking from the weapon) (13)(14)(15)(21)(22)(23)(24).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soot or smoke soiling is usually black and easily washed off the skin. The edge of the wound usually becomes blackened too, with soot in the exposed tissues (13)(14)(15). No soot can be found on the wound's surface when there is a straight-contact firing distance instead, because even if it enters into the wound's edges and into the superficial tissues around the bullet's path, it cannot be macroscopically detected on the most superficial layers of the skin.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Chromatic Variation of Soot Soiling: A Possible Marker for Gunshot Wounds in Burnt Bone

Amadasi

Merli

Brandone

et al. 2013

Soot soiling is a crucial forensic parameter around gunshot lesions. Carbonization, however, can severely alter human tissues and mimic such clues. This study aims at evaluating the survival of soot soiling even after carbonization in bone. A total of 36 bovine ribs (half fleshed and half defleshed) were shot with two types of bullet (both 9-mm; full metal-jacketed and unjacketed) with a near-contact range. With unjacketed bullets, the shot left in every case a clear, black, and roughly round soot stain around the entrance wound, whereas full metal-jacketed bullets left no signs of soot. Every specimen then underwent calcination in an oven at 800°C. The analysis of the charred samples clearly showed the survival of the soot soiling in both fleshed and bony samples, with a clear correspondence with the former position, but with a different color (yellow). Thus, soot soiling may survive, although with a different color, even after charring.

“…Internal examination showed no evidence of recent or old intracranial hemorrhage; however, several lesions were found within both cerebral hemispheres. In the white matter of the right 1 School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, 160 Oxford Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia. frontal and parietal lobes was a large, yellow and partly necrotic lesion measuring 40 9 15 9 15 mm.…”

Section: Case Reportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…KEYWORDS: forensic science, forensic pathology, autopsy, hypothermia, glioblastoma multiforme, brain neoplasm, hypothalamus Hypothermia describes a state in which the body's mechanism for temperature regulation is overwhelmed resulting in the reduction of the core body temperature to ≤35°C (≤95°F) (1). In cold climates, death due to hypothermia is a relatively well-known problem in the public health arena especially in the elderly, the homeless, the mentally ill and drug-dependent people.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypothermia Secondary to Glioblastoma Multiforme? Autopsy Findings in Two Cases

Morgan

Schwartz

Duflou

2015

Death due to accidental primary hypothermia in cold climates is relatively common, with previous case series reflecting this. In contrast, hypothermia-related death as a result of an underlying medical cause, such as a brain tumor, is rare. The literature clearly illustrates a theoretical causal relationship between brain neoplasms and hypothermia through the infiltration of the hypothalamus; however, the number of reported cases is minimal. Two cases are presented where autopsy confirmed hypothermia as the cause of death with both cases revealing widespread glioblastoma multiforme in the brain. Both decedents were elderly with a number of comorbidities identified during autopsy that could explain death; however, hypothermia was deemed the most likely cause. It is proposed that both decedents died of hypothermia as a result of the tumor's effect on thermoregulation. These cases underline the importance of forensic pathologists to be aware of the relationship between brain tumors and hypothermia and to not dismiss death as being due to other disease processes.