Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine

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https://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/134514

Editor: Dr Mukesh Yadav

ISSN: 0971-0973 (Print)

Frequency: Quarterly

Language: English

Published by Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine

Peer-reviewed open access journal indexed in Index Medicus

Web site: https://www.forensicindia.com/journals/jiafm/index.htm

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 522

Significance of history taking before autopsy: A case study.
(2012-10) Kumar, Aman; Kumar, Sanjeev; Kumar, Binay
Many cases are being reported before the Forensic Experts, in which it becomes difficult to find out the precise cause of death. A 73 year male was brought for autopsy examination at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand with suspicion of death due to brain tumor. The findings of autopsy examination was edema of brain matters and depressed area in right frontal lobe of brain with several stitches marks on right side of head. Detailed history from all the concerned persons were taken which reveals previously person was operated by neurosurgeon for space occupying lesion in cranial cavity. Histo-pathology examination of mass showed Koch’s lesion as tuberculoma en plaque a very rare presentation of tuberculosis which is very common in our country even in the era of 21st century. Case is being presented with brief discussion showing the need of early and prompt history taking including hospital records details before an autopsy examination. It may reveal important facts as well as helps the Forensic Experts to take the consideration of therapeutic artefacts during autopsy to find the exact cause of death.
Peripheral arterial embolism of pellets after shotgun injury to the abdomen: A case report.
(2012-10) Momin, Sadikhusen G; Khubchandani, Harish T
Dealing with shotgun injury to the abdomen it is important to be aware of the possibility of missile emboli and their potential clinical effects because it usually causes vascular trauma but intravascular missile embolism is relatively rare. Vascular trauma following shotgun injuries may involve laceration of the vessel wall, pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula or missile embolism. A pellet embolus should be suspected in all cases where gunshot entry wound is present with or without an exit wound. We recently encountered a case of a close-range shotgun injury to the abdomen with subsequent embolisation of pellets to bifurcation of popliteal artery both lower limbs. However, pellet embolus is asymptomatic, there is still debate over best management because conservative management avoids surgical risks and operative removal prevents the possibility of embolus related life threatening complications. This case shows that it is necessary to do whole body imaging in all cases of shotgun injury whether exit wound present or not.
Sudden natural death due to takayasu’s arteritis.
(2012-10) Varghese, P S; Garg, Isha; Mangeshkar, Anil
A young male aged 23 yrs with alleged history of chest pain was brought to the emergency medicine department of St John’s Medical college hospital. On arrival was declared brought dead. There was no previous significant medical history. A Medico-legal autopsy was done which revealed left anterior descending coronary artery lumen to be occluded by grey white material. On Histo-pathological examination of the heart, it was diagnosed as Takayasu’s arteritis. Takayasu arteritis, also known as Pulseless disease, occlusive thromboaortopathy, and Martorella syndrome, It is a Granulomatous inflammation of unknown aetiology affecting medium and large arteries leading to vessel wall thickening and occlusion . Females are more likely to be affected than males. Patients often notice the disease symptoms between 15- 30 years of age. Symptoms range from malaise, fever, night sweats, weight loss, arthalagia, fatigue and can present with absent pulses, limb claudication, blood pressure, discrepancies, Hypertension, retinopathy Ischemia, postural dizziness, seizures, hemi paresis and many more. Sudden death due to Takayasu’s arteritis affecting coronary artery is rarely reported during medico-legal autopsy, hence this case is reported.
Suicide pact by hanging: A case report.
(2012-10) Jakhar, Jitender Kumar; Paliwal, P K; Pal, Vijay
Suicides are more likely to occur during periods of socioeconomic, family and individual crisis. A suicide pact is an agreement between two people to end their lives. Most suicides are solitary and private; but few results from a pact between 2 people to die together. It is predominantly made by male-female partners and by less violent methods. Suicide pact between people of the same gender is an unusual event. We discussed a case of a suicide pact where a 19-year-old male and a 20-year-old male who were friends committed suicide by hanging because of drug addiction and poverty. Two young adult male made a pact to commit suicide by hanging themselves from a ceiling hook. It is unique case in this regard. Suicide pact is also very interesting from the perspective of medical examiners. They need to make comprehensive postmortem examination to finally conclude the proper cause and the manner of death.
Accidental potassium bromate poisoning in nine adults.
(2012-10) Kumar, Sushil; Pankaj, Pranjal
Accidental Potassium bromate poisoning is uncommon in adults, can have varied manifestations in different patients and can sometimes be deceiving. Potassium bromate white powder and oxidizing agent is used predominantly in bakeries as a maturing agent for flour and as a dough conditioner. It is also occasionally used as a neutralizer in hair kits. This paper deals with nine cases of accidental potassium bromate poisoning working in a bakery. Almost all the patients present with pain abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea. Severe gastritis leading to hematemesis is one of the dreaded complications. Acute renal failure can ensue after 24-48 hours of intake and thus patient must be investigated in this line. All of them ingested potassium bromate powder considering it to be milk powder. Potassium bromate poisoning must be considered as a possibility in every case presenting as acute gastroenteritis like symptoms after intake of bakery products. Strict legislation is required to decrease the risk of such incidents.
Exhumation and identification: A case report.
(2012-10) Rani, Mukta; Kumar, Pawan; Kumar, Mukesh; Rani, Yashoda
The term exhumation is restricted to legally digging out the body from the grave after burial. The objectives of disinterment can vary in various cultures as well as countries and requirements vary from place to place However, most cases of exhumation occur because there is a request from a magistrate to carry out an autopsy to gain essential forensic evidence. The paper discusses such a case of 10 year old girl who was buried after committing sexual assault and strangulation. After the passage of about two years the victim’s body was retrieved from the place identified by the accused persons who confessed to the crime. The body of the victim was identified by her mother from a small piece of under slip and other articles she was wearing. The paper discusses various aspects of exhumation and also stresses the importance of careful examination and recording of personal articles, belongings etc of the victim recovered from/with the body during autopsy examination.
Rape, sodomy and murder of a minor girl.
(2012-10) Mahanta, Putul
In this short case of article on typical sexual assault, a 14 year old minor girl was killed and found in a ditch of a jungle nearby her house. The minor girl has died as a consequence of barbarous act of sexual assault, sustained bruises on labia, recent hymnal tears, and tears around anus with signs of ligature strangulation besides the generalized signs of asphyxia. The wearing garments were found torn at places with the presence of stains of mad and sand particles. The laboratory findings confirm presence of spermatozoa. The presence of marks of violence on the genitals of the child, when an early examination is made is the strong evidence that the sexual assault has been committed. The psychiatric analysis of all the accused of this kind of cases should be made mandatory for better assessment of the cases besides an active legislative and judicial actions, comprehensive quick approaches of investigative officers and healthcare providers.
Forensic onychology: An essential entity against crime.
(2012-10) Parmar, Pragnesh; Rathod, Gunvanti B
Forensic Onychology (Greek word, Onuks = nail, Logia = study of) is the subject which deals with study of fingernails and toenails for better administration of justice in the court of law. Identification means determination of individuality of a person. Nails are important tissues for human identification. One of the major advantages of utilizing nail is that, in comparison with other tissues, sample size and sampling process can be considered relatively non invasive and non destructive and yet each nail retains a discrete record of detailed information on genetic inheritance, drug use, pathology, diet and location history as well as exposure to explosives residues or other pollutants. In contrast to soft tissues, nails survive relatively well in the decomposition environment. Furthermore, in contrast to other long lasting tissues (such as bone and teeth) nails are easy to decontaminate from external sources of DNA. Thus examination of nail is very useful in many ways against crime. In this paper, we discussed about structure and method of analysis of nail, utility of examination, drug use and nails and detection of DNA from nails.
Assisted reproductive techniques ethical and legal issues.
(2012-10) Chaudhary, B L
The rapid advancements in sciences have revolutionized modern medicine in a number of ways; genetic engineering, Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), human cloning, stem cells etc. has opened up the unimagined and promise unquestionable and undreamed benefits to mankind. At the same time, they raise many questions of law and ethical issues relating to public interest, social and religious sentiments and family concern. Although ethical judgments may indeed express personal preferences and may be connected in complicated ways with cultural conventions, ethics itself is a form of rational inquiry that concerns how we should live and what we should do. Some ethical issues are matters of debate. The Delhi Government has promulgated legislation in this regard which is cited as “The Delhi artificial insemination (Human) Bill 1995. The Indian Council for Medical Research has laid down certain guidelines for clinics practicing of assisted reproductive techniques and handling of surrogates in India. There is a certain element of risk associated with all assisted reproductive procedures. It is, therefore, necessary to ascertain the therapeutic and research value of the AR procedure in each case.
A study of pericardial fluid enzymes activities after death and their correlation with post-mortem interval.
(2012-10) Sharma, Priyanka; Jain, Sheetal; Mathur, Rati; Vyas, Amit; Amylases -enzymology
The estimation of time since death at the time of autopsy has been and remains to be one of the challenges to the Forensic Pathologist. .A prospective study was undertaken in SMS Hospital, Jaipur on activity of Pericardial Fluid enzymes after death in deceased. A total of 50 study cases were randomly selected after screening. The pericardial fluid was examined biochemically for enzyme activity of Amylase, Creatine Kinase (CK), Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes by photoelectric colorimetry method. The enzyme activity levels so obtained were charted and statistically studied and graphical records obtained against known post-mortem interval. The data thus obtained was analysed with a view to ascertain whether such assays could be of any help to estimate time since death routinely. In this study we observed a positive correlation of all the four enzymes with the time elapsed after death of which rise in CK was found to be statistically significant.
Study of hanging cases in Ahmedabad Region.
(2012-10) Patel A P, Shah K A; Bansal, A; Shah, J V; Shah, K A
In spite of advancement in medical facilities, the natural end of life is inevitable. But for some persons, the death is destined earlier in an un-natural way. A few choose to make their own way by committing suicide. The major reasons are personnel problems, stress of life, family problems and financial problems. There are many methods for committing suicide like poisoning, hanging, self-immolation, drowning etc. Hanging provides painless death so it is one of the commonly adopted methods for suicide. However, in a few instances false allegations are made claiming that the ligature mark over neck is of strangulation rather than hanging. Vice versa cases are also likely. In such cases, the post-mortem findings are very helpful to differentiate between the two. Present prospective study was carried out at the mortuary of Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad over 2 years period ranging from December 2008 to November 2010 with a view to study to incidence, ligature materials, and post-mortem findings in hanging cases. The place of hanging, manner of death and reason for death were also studied in the study.
Determination of time elapsed since death from the status of transparency of cornea in Ranchi in different weathers.
(2012-10) Kumar, Binay; Kumari, Vinita; Mahto, Tulsi; Sharma, Ashok; Kumar, Aman
Determination of ‘time elapsed since death’ (TSD) is one of the important content of the post-mortem report. Although the status of transparency of cornea is variable, depending on different factors like other parameters used for the purpose of determination of time since death but it is less variable as compared to others. The study sample comprised of 238 medico-legal autopsies conducted in the department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand during June 2006 to September 2007. In majority of cases cornea remains transparent & moist in 0—06 Hrs and becomes transparent & dry in 06—12 Hrs, transparent to hazy in 12—24 Hrs, hazy to opaque in 24—36 hrs and opaque in >36 Hrs. In sequence, changes occurs more in warm & moist weather then in warm & dry weather and cold & moist weather respectively and least in cold and dry weather.
Sex determination from sternal end of 4th rib in Western U.P. population: An autopsy study.
(2012-10) Gangal, Ravi; haroon, Afzal; Yadav, Mukesh; Chavada, V K
There have been several studies on the human skull, long bones, pelvis, sacrum and manubrium to establish the sex of skeletal remains. If small segment of the bone or small bone is found then it will be very difficult to identify the sex. The present study showed the sternal extremity of the fourth rib can be used in determining the sex by direct metrical analysis of an isolated 4th rib. The samples (55 males, 39 females) were obtained from individual of known age and sex and three measurements (SI, APW and PD) were taken from each rib. The sample was divided into five groups from less than 15 years to more than 60 years and was analysed by stepwise discriminant function analysis. It was found the specificity of sex determination varied from 50 % to 88.89 % and overall correct classification varied from 60% to 94%. SI was the most reliable followed by APW and APW measurement is most useful criteria for more than 60 year of age. It was therefore concluded that sexual dimorphism can be detected by direct measurement of fourth rib and this dimorphism increases with age.
Lipid profiles with increase blood lead level: Risk of cardiovascular disease in battery workers of Lucknow City.
(2012-10) Sharma, Shyam Vinay; Kumar, Pradeep; Atam, Virendra; Verma, Anoop; Murthy, R C
In order to investigate the effects of lead exposure on risk of cardiovascular disease during Occupational battery workers i.e. lead exposure, plasma cholesterol and its fractions as high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride (T.G.) were determined in various battery workers in Lucknow city U.P., India. Increased risk of cardiovascular disease was observed in the various battery workers. Total cholesterol in the battery workers and control group was 142.14±31.92 (mg/dl) and 95.72±11.57 (mg/dl) respectively, which is higher in the battery workers than that of present in control group, While LDL cholesterol in the battery workers and control group was 158.30±22.70 (mg/dl) and 103.77± 4.62 (mg/dl) respectively. HDL cholesterol in the battery workers and control group was 38.80±10.13 (mg/dl) and 65.53±6.52 (mg/dl) respectively. The triglyceride levels were 162.06±90.85 (mg/dl) and 138.62±5.65 (mg/dl) in the battery workers and control group respectively, which is not affected [p > 0.05]. The LDL/HDL and Total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio, Blood pressure, and blood lead level, was also higher in the battery workers, Results suggest that lead exposure increases cholesterol synthesis and transport to peripheral tissues whereas reverse cholesterol transport to the liver is not affected.
Analysis of cranio-cerebral injuries by blunt force.
(2012-10) Puttaswamy
Despite current advances in public education and in automobile safety requirements, cranio-cerebral injuries continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality and accounts for significant portion of health care costs today. Trauma respects neither geography nor body systems. Consequently head injury occurs every 15 seconds and a patient dies from a head injury every 12 minutes, a day doesn’t pass that an emergency department physician is not confronted with a head injured patient. The present work is based on the observation and study made on 117 cases collected. These cases include 39 cases who died before being admitted to any hospital and were sent directly by the police to postmortem, Mysore Medical College, Mysore, and 78 cases that died in the hospital under medical care. Clinical data are available for 78 cases that died in the hospital after undergoing some treatment. An attempt is made in these cases to correlate clinical findings with the autopsy findings.
The anthropometric measurements of tibia.
(2012-10) Bokariya, Pradeep; Sontakke, Bharat; Waghmare, J E; Tarnekar, Aaditya; Tirpude, B H; Shende, M R
Anthropometry provides scientific method and technique for taking various measurements in different geographic regions and races. The Tibia itself is a complex anatomic unit so anthropometric study was devised on the same. In the present study 60 (26 right and 34 left) intact adult tibia were obtained from the bone bank of Anatomy Department of MGIMS, Sevagram. For this purpose a digital vernier caliper, osteometric board and measuring tape were used. The study was aimed at determining measurements for obtaining Cross-Section Index in middle, Cnemicus Index and Length-Thickness Index for both right and left Tibia. The details of data obtained with relevant review of literature will be discussed. The mean of Cross Sectional index for Right tibias was 102.90± 22.78. Similarly mean of Cross Sectional index for left tibias was 124.31± 25.06. The mean of Cnemicus Index for Right tibias was 66.17 ± 10.68 and for left side these values came out to be 67.31 ± 7.35. These are not statistically significant. The mean of Length-Thickness Index were 24.21 ± 0.96 and 24.43 ± 1.78 for right and left Tibias respectively.
A role of digital imaging in identification of unidentified bodies.
(2012-10) Bodkha, Pravir; Yadav, Bishwanath
Unidentified and unclaimed bodies for medico-legal autopsy has shown increased trend. Relatives of unidentified bodies suffer a lot of psychological trauma and also suffer in settling insurance, inheritance and pension claims. When an unidentified body has injuries on face, then photograph of such deceased is not accepted by print or electronic media for publication as such photograph may cause distress to the viewers. This study was conducted on three cases of unidentified and unclaimed bodies brought for medico-legal autopsy with facial injuries making their photographs unfit for publication in print or electronic media. Photograph of the deceased face was taken; image was transferred to a computer and by using Adobe Photoshop software CS2 and the injuries present on face were removed. The result showed that in all the three cases we could establish the identity by digital imaging. Relatives of the deceased could identify their missing relative by photograph shown to them after removal of injuries. Later on police confirmed the identification by using other methods of establishing identity. This method can be an aid in identification of unidentified bodies presented with facial injuries.
Study of septic abortion cases at a tertiary centre of Uttarakhand.
(2012-10) Bisht, Vandana; Rawat, Usha; Bhaisora, Chandra Prakash; Singh, Pankaj
Aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence, maternal morbidity & mortality, clinical features, management in cases of septic abortion in a tertiary centre. This study included 37 cases of septic abortion admitted during 5 years from January 2007 to January 2012 in the Department of obstetrics & Gynaecology in Government Medical College, Haldwani. All patients were evaluated with special reference to incidence, etiological factors, clinical features, surgery & maternal morbidity & mortality. The incidence of septic abortion was 1.08%. Common age group was between 26-30 years. Most of the cases were from lower socioeconomic status. Septic abortion following spontaneous abortion was present in 5 cases. Unwanted pregnancy was the indication for termination of pregnancy in 32 cases. 4 women were admitted in state of septic shock. 12 cases required lapratomy for drainage of pus, 3 had hysterectomy, 3 had resection anastomosis & uterus repair was done in 4 cases. Overall maternal mortality was 5 (13.5%).The incidence of illegal and septic abortion can be reduced by increasing awareness about family planning services and making legal abortion services easily available to the women and that too at a cheaper cost.
Epidemiology and outcome of burn injuries.
(2012-10) Shankar, Gowri; Naik, Vijaya A; Powar, Rajesh; Honnungar, Ravindra; Mallapur, M D
Burn injury is a serious public health problem in developing countries. The causes vary in different communities and so this study was done to know the epidemiology and outcome of burn injuries. A one year cross sectional study was done of all the burn injury patients admitted during April 1st, 2004 to March 31st, 2005. Data was collected using a pre designed and pre tested proforma from the patients themselves or their relatives and analyzed using chi square test and percentages. A total of 76 burn injury patients were admitted. Majority were females (52.63%) and sustained burn injuries at home (p=0.000). Maximum number of females were wearing synthetic clothes (p=0.000) and suffered from flame injuries (0.006).The case fatality rate was 31.58%.Burn injuries can be reduced by bringing about regulations to develop safer cooking appliances, promoting less inflammable fabrics to be worn at home and educating the community especially women.
Determination of sex from fragment of hip bone in Indian Bengali.
(2012-10) Mukhopadhyay, Partha Pratim
The present study was designed to derive a model for determination of sex from fragment of adult hip bone (distal ischio-pubic portion) in a population specific sample using Discriminant function analysis. The following discriminant function was obtained: DF = .76*SYL +1.60*SYW + 4.36. *DOF – 24.88 Overall 90.0 % of the cases could be correctly classified in to the two sexes from the three predictors [maximum vertical length of symphyseal surface (SYL), maximum width of symphyseal surface of pubis (SYW) and maximum diameter of the obturator foramen (DOF).] in the model. Cross-validated results showed correct classification in 86.7% cases. The results of this preliminary study show that these three variables contribute to discrimination between the two sexes in the study population. This investigation also reiterates that discriminant functions are population specific. Sexing of the adult human hipbone is thus possible with reasonable accuracy using the discriminant function on a sample obtained from the Indian Bengali population. This metric analysis can be used for fragmentary remains of hipbones of the population under study.

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