NCJ Number
206541
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 49 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2004 Pages: 809-813
Date Published
July 2004
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a case study that involved comparing the autopsy findings on injuries in a fatal vehicle accident and the findings of a postmortem examination of injuries using multislice computed tomography (MSCT).
Abstract
The victim was a 72-year-old White male cyclist (riding without a helmet), who was struck by a motor vehicle from his left and posterior side. His occiput was struck on the car roof girder, and the skull was compressed in posterior-anterior direction. For radiological examination, the body was wrapped in two radiologically artefact-free body bags. MSCT scanning was done on a GE Lightspeed QX/I unit. The duration of MSCT scanning was 10 minutes. The autopsy was performed by board-certified forensic pathologists. MSCT and autopsy results were compared, and the body injuries were correlated to vehicle damage. This paper describes the radiological findings by MSCT examination for head injury and other lesions. The autopsy confirmed the radiological findings. Except for the petechial hemorrhages in the basal part of the frontal lobe and the hemorrhage in the brain stem, all tissue injuries revealed by autopsy were also detected by MSCT. The authors conclude that postmortem imaging is an excellent forensic visualization tool with great potential for the detection and documentation of injuries. MSCT is the preferred imaging method for bone pathology and is good to fair for soft tissue pathology, where MRI is often superior, although it is more complicated, expensive, and lengthy than MSCT. 6 figures and 27 references