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Survey on the Use of the Biological Profile in Death Investigation and Human...

Detection of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in fabric urine stains older than five...

Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is used in clinical medicine as a particularly important indicator to determine pregnancy. In this study, it was necessary to determine whether the urine spots on car seat fabric from a murder 5 years previously were from a pregnant woman. The H...

Fatal rupture of hepatic adenomatosis: Autopsy case and review of the literature

Hepatic adenomatosis is a rare disease consisting of multiple adenomas in otherwise‐normal liver parenchyma. Though the discovery of this entity goes back several years, its diagnosis is still challenging in terms of its definition and pathophysiology. Clinically, patients may be...

Homicidal electrocution disguised as an accidental death: An autopsy case report

Deaths due to electrocution are mostly accidental. Homicide by electrocution is rarely reported in the literature. However, the location and pattern of the electrocution wound can raise concern for a possible homicidal manner of death. We are reporting an unusual case wherein the...

Death by compaction in a robotic dumpster

Robotic waste management automation systems are increasingly utilized around the globe as a user‐friendly, ecological and hygienic alternative to waste disposal, simultaneously reducing the volume and frequency of waste collection. The present paper aims to report a case of death...

Can computed tomography replace or supplement autopsy?

Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) has been integrated into the practice of many forensic pathologists. To evaluate the utility of PMCT in supplementing and/or supplanting medicolegal autopsy, we conducted a prospective double‐blind comparison of abnormal findings reported by ...

Exploring the value of microorganisms in the appendix for inferring postmortem interval in...

Various microorganisms play an important role in daily functions in the body and continue to flourish after death. Our prior investigation using frozen cadavers revealed that the appendix, rather than the transverse colon, was a superior sampling site for intestinal bacteria beca...

Characteristics of skin injuries caused by power drill

Skin injuries caused by power drills have been rarely reported. A case is described of a 51‐year‐old woman who was found dead on a motorway after committing suicide by jumping from a bridge. The body showed a total of nine circular/oval penetrating injuries of the chest and abdom...

Correlation of soft tissue and skeletal injuries in cases of violent death: A...

In forensic pathology, deaths due to mechanical injuries (blunt, sharp, and gunshot) require an autopsy in order to determine the cause and manner of death through a detailed examination of viscera, soft tissues, and the skeletal system. Sometimes, such as in cases of severe putr...

An unusual blunt force trauma pattern and mechanism to the cranial vault: Investigation of...

This case report presents an unusual fracture pattern in the cranium of a four‐month‐old infant indicative of child abuse. Upon postmortem examination, the infant presented with numerous bilateral linear cranial fractures running perpendicular to the sagittal suture with depresse...

Forensic Pathology Resident Training Grant 2023

Remembering World-Renowned Forensic Pathologist Vincent Di Maio

A TikTok™ “Benadryl Challenge” death—A case report and review of the literature

TikTok™, a social media platform popular with teenagers and young adults, hosts a variety of short‐form user videos with durations from 15 s to 10 min. Among these videos are potentially dangerous "challenges," such as the "Skull Breaker" challenge and the &qu...

In Memoriam—Vincent J.M. Di Maio, MD

Monitoring cell loss through repetitive deposition

Touch DNA deposited on items can be visualised by using fluorescent nucleic acid staining dyes. It might be expected that if a person contacts items multiple times, then at each contact fewer cells should be transferred and deposited. Here we report on the use of Diamond Dye (DD)...

Hyposphagma, positional asphyxia, and acute intoxication with psychoactive substances

Hyposphagma or subconjunctival hemorrhage is extensive confluent bleeding located between the conjunctiva and episclera. It can develop after trauma or the Valsalva maneuver and hemorrhagic diathesis and vascular diseases, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes are the pred...

Accuracy of forensic pathologists in incorporating post‐mortem CT (PMCT) in forensic death...

Post‐mortem computed tomography (PMCT) is now performed routinely in some medical examiner's offices, and the images are typically interpreted by forensic pathologists. In this study, the question of whether pathologists appropriately identify significant PMCT findings and i...

Carrion flies (Insecta: Diptera) found on human cadavers in Chiba prefecture, Honshu,...

Forensic entomology (FE) involves the collection and analysis of necrophagous insects and arthropods for postmortem interval estimation based on their growth and succession. In Japan, research on FE is limited, and the predominant species of necrophagous insects and their distrib...

In Memoriam—John Heidingsfelder, MD

Blunt force homicides in Denmark 1992–2016

Blunt force trauma is a common homicide method, inflicted in three different ways: bodily force, assault with blunt objects of various types and falls from height. The objective of this study is to provide thorough information on blunt force homicides with data on the victims, th...