Occlusion of left and right coronary arteries and coronary sinus following blunt chest trauma

Blunt chest trauma from rapid automobile airbag deployment causing coronary artery occlusion and myocardial infarction is a rare but potentially fatal condition. We present the case of a 37-year-old man who developed extensive anterior and inferior myocardial infarction because of occlusion of both left anterior and right coronary arteries following blunt injury to the chest in a car accident. The patient was scheduled for emergency coronary angiography but left and right coronary ostia were not cannulated because of thrombus formation probably. The patient died, and the autopsy revealed external compression by epicardial hematomas involving separately left and right coronary arteries and the coronary sinus without signs of coronary and/or aortic dissection. To our knowledge, this is the first case presenting occlusion of both coronary arteries secondary to blunt chest trauma causing acute myocardial infarction in a young man without signs of prior coronary artery disease.     

离体心脏冠状动脉造影术及其法医学应用

目的应用冠状动脉造影技术对离体心脏进行检查,以便更准确地发现冠状动脉病变的位置、性质和程度,提高综合评价心血管疾病的能力。方法提取10例不同死因的新鲜离体心脏,用指环注射器对离体心脏加压注射硫酸钡造影剂,在Xper FD20血管造影机下显影,获取图片及影像资料,应用造影机附带软件对所获得的影像资料进行三维成像处理。取冠状动脉组织HE染色,镜下观察,并与造影结果对比。结果 10例检材经造影获得的影像学资料,其中8例冠状动脉主支及各分支未发现狭窄,2例检材发现存在Ⅲ级、Ⅳ级冠状动脉狭窄。与冠状动脉组织HE染色结果一致,二者相互印证。结论离体冠状动脉造影技术对于冠状动脉狭窄准确分级、血管畸形及微小病变的检验有其独特的优越性,可为尸体检验病理取材时微小病变的定位提供参考,为鉴定意见提供依据。     

窦房结中央动脉狭窄与心源性猝死

近年来国内外学者相继报道由单纯窦房结中央动脉狭窄引起的猝死。本文就窦房结中央动脉的解剖、组织学特点、病变特点进行综述,探讨窦房结动脉狭窄引起猝死的机制,以期为相关法医病理学死因鉴定提供理论基础。     

Pacemaker/defibrillator evaluation at Los Angeles County Department of Coroner*

Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted medical devices for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. These devices are now commonly encountered in the postmortem situation. The Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner uses the services of a cardiac electrophysiology consultant to interrogate pacemakers and ICDs, producing a detailed picture of the cardiac events recorded by the device. We have used this method to evaluate 20 cases where the ICD or pacemaker provided significant information. We report four forensic cases to illustrate the different applications of pacemaker interrogation and its contribution in forensic investigation. This technique was used to establish identification of the decedent, to determine the cause and time of death, and to determine whether device malfunction could have played a role in the death. We conclude that detailed evaluation of the pacemaker or ICD in selected cases may provide essential information to the forensic pathologist.     

Cardiac Sudden Death as a Result of Acute Coronary Artery Thrombosis During Chemotherapy for Testicular Carcinoma

Abstract: We report the first acute coronary fibrin thrombus arising upon atherosclerosis detected at autopsy in a man receiving chemotherapy for testicular carcinoma. The decedent was a smoker with no other known atherosclerotic risk factors. Histology revealed superficial atherosclerotic plaque erosion with endothelial necrosis and no intraplaque hemorrhage. A focus of intimal lymphoid infiltrates was noted away from the plaque. These findings raise the possibility of chemotherapy‐induced vascular damage as a factor in thrombogenesis. A review of Pubmed was performed which documented clinical reports of an association of chemotherapy with acute cardiac ischemia but no well described autopsy findings. Our case highlights the need for careful assessment of the coronary system in chemotherapy patients dying suddenly, particularly in the absence of significant atherosclerotic risk factors. Such postmortem examination will ensure thorough death investigation and may elucidate the pathogenesis of thrombosis with potential reduction in cardiac ischemic risks of chemotherapy patients.     

Planned and unplanned complex suicides: a 5-year retrospective study

The notion of planned and unplanned complex suicides first appeared in 1974 by Marcinkowski and, since then, no systematic study of complex suicides has been published in the English forensic literature. Here, the authors present a 5-year retrospective study of complex suicides. Nineteen complex suicides were reviewed: five unplanned and 14 planned, including the first case of an unplanned complex suicide in a woman. All cases were analyzed in terms of gender, age, methods of suicide, the presence of a suicide note, and past suicide attempts, and statistically compared with a 50-case sample of simple suicides. A further comparison was established with compiled data from the literature. Similarities were revealed regarding incidence of complex suicides, male gender predominance, and types of methods used. In contrast, results showed a higher average age for planned complex suicide victims. Finally, the authors discuss the application of the complex suicide definition.     

胆囊收缩素(CCK)在冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块中的表达

目的揭示胆囊收缩素(CCK)在冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块中的表达情况,以进一步探讨CCK在动脉粥样硬化形成过程中的作用。方法选用100例35～92岁男性尸检冠状动脉粥样硬化标本,分为粥样硬化Ⅰ～Ⅱ级组和Ⅲ～Ⅳ级组,同时设正常对照组,用免疫组化技术进行检测。结果对照组CCK呈阴性表达,而冠状动脉粥样硬化组呈阳性表达(P0.01),Ⅰ～Ⅱ级组与Ⅲ～Ⅳ级组之间CCK表达无显著差异(P0.05)。结论 CCK在冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块中的有表达,但不随粥样硬化斑块程度的变化而变化。     

Skull Fracture with Brain Expulsion in a One-Level Jumping-Fall

Abstract:  Here presented is the case of a one-level jumping-fall with extensive skull fractures and brain expulsion. The body was found on the basement floor at the foot of the stairs. At the autopsy, the skull was extensively fractured, with about half of the brain expulsed several feet away from the body. The cause of death was established as a craniocerebral trauma with brain expulsion. The circumstances and manner of death were still unclear at that time. A low fall seemed very unlikely considering the severity of the skull and brain damage. The police investigation clearly revealed that the man, in a paranoid psychotic state, attacked his wife with a knife and then was witnessed by his children to have hit his head several times with a hammer. Afterwards, they saw him running to the top of the basement stairs and jumping to the bottom of the stairs head first.