Catecholamine effects on pulmonary blood vessels in strangulation

Guinea pigs were killed by strangulation to investigate the vasomotor of pulmonary congestion by asphyxia. The noradrenaline uptake by the endothelial cells of the pulmonary arteries and capillaries was observed by fluorescence histochemistry, peroxidase-anti-peroxidase (PAP) immunocytochemistry, and autoradiography. By radioassay, the volumes of noradrenaline uptake by the pulmonary arteries and capillaries in the strangulation group were at a significantly higher level than in the control groups. Many myoendothelial junctions were observed at the sites of constricted arteries, and the invasive noradrenaline was clearly observed in the myoendothelial junction. The mechanism of the pulmonary vasoconstriction in strangulation is due to the fact that the plasma noradrenaline, increased by asphyxia, invades the endothelial cells of pulmonary arteries and capillaries and causes the vasoconstriction.     

Examination reports on survived strangulation cases

Clinical-forensic examination of strangulation victims is an increasing part of the routine of many forensic pathology institutes. The cases examined between 2004 and 2008 at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Hanover Medical School were retrospectively analysed. In total, the study material comprised 218 victims (175 females and 43 males). In 80.7 %, the clinical-forensic examination was performed within 24 hours after the incident. In the overwhelming number of cases, the alleged perpetrator was no stranger. 128 victims (58.7 %) had strangulation marks, 32 victims (14.7 %) ligature marks and 65 victims (29.8 %) nail marks. Four victims showed injuries of the laryngeal and pharyngeal structures (reddening, hematomas, swelling and in one case a fracture of the cricoid cartilage on both sides). Extensive petechiae were predominantly seen in the conjunctivae, the buccal mucosa and the skin of the face in cases where the victims suffered a loss of consciousness. 87 cases (39.9% were classified as potentially life-threatening and 30 cases (13.8 %) as acute life-threatening events. This classification is of legal relevance for the penalty. In addition, 60 victims experienced sexual violence. These results suggest that early clinical-forensic examination is crucial for documenting forensic evidence in support of police investigations and may deliver significant details relevant in court.     

The morphological changes in the pulmonary vessels in death from freezing

The article deals with morphology of pulmonary vessels in case of death from overcooling, which has an adaptive value for temperature homeostasis and differential diagnostic value for medicolegal practical work.     

Morphologic findings for airway occlusion in strangulation

Report of two cases of strangulation by hand. There were large submucous bleedings of the larynx (both sides of conus elasticus) of symmetrical arrangement, near the vocal processes of the arytenoid cartilages. They are believed to be the result of the violent contact of the vocal folds during laryngeal compression; perhaps while the arytenoid cartilages were subluxated inwards and downwards. Bleedings like this indicate the closure of the airway. In one case (50-year old woman) the ossified cricoid was broken; in the other (21-year old woman) the elastic laryngeal skeleton was intact, but large bleedings of the deeper tissues of both vocal folds indicated the vehement compression too. The analysis of 110 cases of attack against the neck (strangulation by hand -n = 30- or ligature -n = 30- alone or together -n = 32-; blunt force: n = 8, other types: n = 10) showed in 7 additional cases less typical but similar bleedings, especially in strangulation by hand.     

Injuries to laryngeal articulations in strangulation and throttling

During the consecutive examination of the larynges of (81) deceased persons (strangulation by hand and/or ligature, blunt force against the neck, from other persons), the cricothyroid and cricoarytenoid-articulations were prepared and opened, and capsular or articular cavity hemorrhaging was found in 30% of all cases; a clear distinction being found between effect of manual strangulation (43%) or blunt trauma (44%) on the one hand and strangulation by ligature alone (9%) on the other. The greater the extent of injury to the cartilages the more articular lesions are found as an expression of the mechanical load on the entire laryngohyoid structure.     

Comparison of handmarks in manual strangulation: an experimental study

A police case with a strangulated woman with fingermarks on the neck and two suspects identifying each other as the perpetrator set off a laboratory experiment. Twenty-one males participated in the study. Blue paint was applied to their fingers, after which they grasped a neck dummy and pressed hard as if strangulating someone. The imprint was removed from the dummy, and their hands were photographed. Five imprints were randomly chosen and superimposed on the hand photographs in blind trials. In no cases did we match an imprint to the correct hand. However, in four cases we matched the imprint with several hands, one of which was the correct one. This means we were able to exclude nonmatches in 4/5 cases. Overall, matching of hands and fingermarks is difficult and inconclusive. Objective criteria for matching are difficult to establish, and matching is probably best suited for cases with specific anatomical features.     

Hemorrhages of the tongue in the postmortem diagnostics of strangulation

Hemorrhages of the tongue can be useful for the diagnosis in cases of lethal neck compression. The reported frequencies of tongue bleedings in the literature in cases of suicidal hanging range from 0 to 14% and in homicidal strangulation (str.) from 5 to 37%. This study gives a summary of the incidence and intensity of tongue bleedings in cases of homicidal str. by ligature, manual str., suicidal str. by ligature and suicidal hanging. In 25% of all homicides significant or massive hemorrhages of the tongue were detected. In contrast to this, in suicidal hanging the tongue was unaffected in 95%. The causes of massive hemorrhages here (2%) could be explained by an "abnormal" position of the loop.     

A study of fatal strangulation cases in Varanasi (India)

Strangulation is one of the oldest and widely used methods of committing murder in the Indian subcontinent. It is usually carried out by constricting the neck either with the hands, elbow, or other parts of body or by ligature, stick, and the like. In this paper we report a study of 26 cases of fatal strangulation occurring in the district of Varanasi (India) during 1982-1983 and analyze their epidemiological, medicolegal, and forensic pathological aspects. The paper also projects the mentality of perpetrators who, after strangling their victims, tried to hide the crime by disposing of the dead bodies by burning, burying, hanging, throwing them into water, or concealing them in distant places in most of the cases.     

Transfer of biological traces in cases of hanging and ligature strangulation

In hanging and ligature strangulation, the noose mostly causes a mark or groove which is formed partly by compression of the skin and partly by abrasion with loss of the upper epidermal layers. The horny scales abraded from the neck may be transferred to the strangulation device or to the interposed textiles where they are sometimes visible at stereomicroscopic examination or even to the naked eye as silver-grey particles. The morphologic features of the epidermal transfer due to hanging and ligature strangulation is demonstrated by 14 case examples. The biological traces may be sufficient for comparative DNA typing by means of PCR-based methods. In 9 out of the 14 cases, genomic DNA typing was successful. Analysis of mtDNA succeeded in another two cases, although genomic DNA could not be detected. Beside the accumulation of solid epidermic particles the paper describes deposition of serous and fatty tissue fluid at the ligature (mainly adjacent to skin ridges).     

Age-related changes in the nervous apparatus of the blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord

This work was designed to study changes in the nervous apparatus of the blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord with a view to developing methods for the determination of the biological age in man. Pial and intramedullary vascular systems of the brain and spinal cord were examined in different periods of postnatal ontogenesis (between the age of 1 and 90 years) using histological, fluorescent-histochemical, and immunohistochemical methods as well as by ink injections into the blood vessels, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The data obtained on the age-related rearrangement of the nervous apparatus of the arterial vessels in the brain and spinal cord have not only theoretical significance but can also be used for the solution of practical problems encountered in the practical work of forensic medical experts.     

An unusual mechanical asphyxia in a homicide-suicide case by smothering and strangulation

A very unusual homicide of 2 children by smothering and strangulation by means of a rubber adhesive band carried out by the mother who committed suicide by the same manner is presented. Smothering is supposed to be one major cause of death in child homicide. Suicide by smothering is relatively uncommon. Suicidal smothering by winding strips of adhesive tape around the head to cover the nose and mouth is an even rarer method recently described in literature. The circumstances of the crime and the macroscopic and microscopic evidence are discussed to reduce the potential for underdiagnoses or mistakes in such cases in which it may be difficult to establish whether suicide or homicide occurred.     

A variant of incaprettamento (ritual ligature strangulation) in East Timor

Incaprettamento is a ritualized form of ligature strangulation often associated with the Italian Mafia. The hallmarks include ligature strangulation and binding of the body in a highly stereotyped fashion. The bindings include tying the wrists and ankles together, with the body in the prone position (similar to "hogtying"), and an additional ligature encircling the neck and attached to the bindings of the extremities. The binding of the body may be performed after death is inflicted by ligature strangulation, or it may be associated with self-strangulation, as shown by the arrangement of ligatures and the position of the body. A case with great similarities to incaprettamento, in which the body was exhumed from a grave in East Timor, is described in detail. However, in addition to prone-position binding and a hyoid fracture, chopping wounds of a knee and blunt trauma to the posterior torso were found. The implication of these wounds is discussed in relation to incaprettamento.     

Fluidity of cadaveric blood after sudden death: Part II. Mechanism of release of plasminogen activator from blood vessels

Experiments by the vascular perfusion technique in isolated hind leg of the dog showed that after addition of various vasoactive drugs to the perfusate, fibrinolytic activity (plasminogen activator level) of the effluent was elevated. The effects of the drugs were completely inhibited only by the specific blocker of their receptor on the vascular wall. High K+ level of the perfusate also induced abundant release of plasminogen activator from the vascular wall.     

A triad of laryngeal hemorrhages in strangulation: a report of eight cases

The results of histological studies on larynges from eight cases of manual strangulation, all that had intracartilaginous laryngeal hemorrhages, a recently described and under-recognized lesion associated with strangulation, are reported. Formalin-fixed larynges were examined in serial section using a standardized protocol. In all cases, intracartilaginous laryngeal hemorrhages were associated with subepithelial laryngeal hemorrhages, and intralaryngeal muscular hemorrhages forming a "triad of hemorrhages." In five cases, the triad was found in the presence of laryngeal cartilage microfractures. Since cartilage microfractures can be causally related to mechanical injury to the neck, it is likely that the triad of hemorrhages has diagnostic value as an independent morphological criterion for the postmortem diagnosis of strangulation. Since a proportion of cases of strangulation lack characteristics that are self-evidently due to violent application of pressure on the neck, recognition of the triad may have important implications for the postmortem diagnosis of strangulation.     

Living victims of strangulation: a 10-year review of cases in a metropolitan community

The prevalence of reported domestic violence or intimate partner violence has greatly increased, with approximately 1.5 million women violently assaulted annually in the United States by an intimate partner. Strangulation is often seen in violence against women, including domestic violence cases. Strangulation is defined as "a form of asphyxia characterized by closure of the blood vessels or air passages of the neck as a result of external pressure on the neck." This is a 10-year case review of 102 living victims of strangulation who underwent medicolegal evaluation at the Clinical Forensic Medicine Program at a State Medical Examiner's Office serving Southern Indiana and all of Kentucky. The majority of victims (79%) were strangled by an intimate partner, and manual strangulation was the most common method (83%). A total of 38 victims (38%) described a history of domestic violence, and the same number lost consciousness while being strangled. Nine (9%) women were pregnant at the time of the attack, while 13 (13%) had a history of being sexually abused in addition to being strangled. A paucity of cases involved only strangulation, as most of the victims were subjected to myriad forms of blunt force trauma which included not only the head and neck but also other bodily regions. This is a unique presentation of strangulation of living persons as most evidence of strangulation in the forensic literature has been derived from postmortem examinations of the victims. This comprehensive study discussing the examination of a living strangulation victim offers valuable insight into the mechanism and the physical findings involved in the strangulation process.     

捕捞渔船安全国际海事立法之观察

国际海事组织在过去几十年一直努力推动捕捞渔船安全国际立法工作。通过对主要的涉渔海事公约以及港口国监督措施,特别是《1993年捕捞渔船安全议定书》和《捕捞渔船船员培训、发证和值班标准国际公约》的探讨,建议中国渔业主管部门、渔业界及行业组织重视国际渔业法研究和普及工作,积极行使国际法权利和履行国际法义务,参照相关海事公约及时修改国内海事安全和渔业法规,依法建立全国统一的渔船和渔船船员登记系统,增强对捕捞渔船现代化和渔船船员培训事业的扶持力度,促进中国海洋渔业的稳健发展。     

Suicide by severing blood vessels using local anesthesia: reduced risk in extraction of HIV infected tissue using a stomacher

Authors report an unusual suicide undertaken by a medical person who after applying the local anesthetic lidocaine, opened a leg vein with a scalpel. The cause of the suicide was presumed advanced AIDS symptoms with a progressive Kaposi sarcoma and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. For the toxicological investigation of the tissue we used the stomacher extraction system, a method not widely known in Forensic science, however, recommended for the extraction of all infectious tissues.