Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology

Chronic constipation is one of the causes of megacolon. It is generally a natural death, provided not died during procedure under anesthesia. This case )NM) is of a 15-year girl )NM) who died on the operation table and referred for a medico-legal autopsy. There has been a history of repeated episodes of constipation since the age of six, and frequently hospitalized but no definite diagnosis was made by primary health care physician. On autopsy, large bowel was distended with a hard giant fecaloma. On histopathological examination, hirschsprung’s disease is ruled, and idiopathic megacolon was considered as a cause of death. History, clinical examination, autopsy findings, and histopathological picture along with medical negligence are discussed in this report.

Accidental decapitation is very rarely seen in Road Traffic Accidents. The common site of decapitation is at the level of the mid-neck in C2-C3 vertebrae or C3-C4 vertebrae due to its weak nature. Here we present a rare presentation of decapitation in a case of Road Traffic Accident, where a person riding a cycle was decapitated at the atlanto-occipital joint. The mode of decapitation and the rarity of its site make this case unique. Autopsy surgeons do not encounter decapitation cases regularly and hence on first encounter many queries regarding manner of death arises in one’s mind. The autopsy surgeons should be clear that although decapitations are commonly encountered in suicide and railway track settings, there is a possibility of its occurrence in regular road traffic accident settings also especially in persons travelling in two-wheeled )open) vehicles.

Background: Poor people accept death as ‘God’s wish’, sing a ritual song and bury their loved ones without pointing a finger at anyone or asking how their loved ones died. Medical errors cause several deaths, but most of the time this goes unnoticed, because many affected by it are poor and illiterate. Objective:To highlight the problem of fatal surgical errors in the management of head injury of patients in the Transkei region of South Africa. Case Histories: The case reports of the autopsies that discussed are intended to highlight the gross surgical negligence of medical professionals. In the first case, burr-holes were made to release intracranial pressure, but a piece of glass, which was the primary cause of increased intracranial pressure, was left in the cranium. In the second case, an inexperienced operating surgeon pushed the drill deep into the cortex of the brain while making burr-holes. The third case report describes a head injury suffered by an alcohol-intoxicated patient. The head injury was inflicted at a police station. This article presents histories, post-mortem findings, causes and mechanisms of death, as well as discusses acts of commission and omission. Conclusion: A high level of fatalities is caused by ‘acts of commission and omission’ in respect of head injury of patients in the Transkei region of South Africa. This matter needs regular auditing through forensic pathology services.

The observable characteristics or the geographical indicators of a burial site can help locate the buried remains. The investigator has to use every available technique in the search and hence needs training in search techniques. Several factors can influence the appearance of a grave. Deliberate burials tend to leave surface evidence and are commonly revealed as a depression. Unidentified graves can also be detected by plant growth, animal signs and other surface objects or indicators. Soil anomalies )depressions and cracking) are more pronounced at larger grave sites versus the smaller grave. The objective of our article is to review these processes and provide guidance as to which search, or instrument technique will be an effective strategy for locating graves.

Keywords | Buried remains; Clandestine grave; Indicators; Grave; Ground Penetrating Radar.
 

There is no statistical data to establish variation in coracoids process fusion of shoulder joint in males in central India population. This significant oversight can lead to exclusion of persons of interest in a forensic investigation. Coracoid process fusions in males were analyzed on radiological basis to assess the range of variation of coracoids process fusion at each age. In this study the X ray films of the subjects were divided into three groups on the basis of degree of fusion. Firstly, those which were showing No Fusion (N), secondly those showing Partial Union (PC), and thirdly those showing Complete Fusion (C). Observations made were compared with the previous studies.

Background: Congenital anomalies of urinary system are common and are found in 3-4% of population, and 10% of terminations of pregnancies are attributable to lethal urinary anomalies. Although timely detection of nonlethal anomalies depends on many aspects, for instance equipment quality, sonologist experience and timing of the ultrasound examination. However, to confirm the findings and to attain definite diagnosis, a fetal autopsy after the termination of a pregnancy is of utmost important and is also crucial for genetic counseling.In view of this, the present study aimed to determine the frequency and to identify the types of the urinary anomalies in perinatal autopsies.

Methods: This study includes 391 perinatal autopsies conducted prospectively from July 2016 to June 2018 at M. R. Medical College, Basaveshwar Teaching and General Hospital, Kalaburagi. After obtaining the consent from either parent, each fetus was examined as per the predetermined protocol which included ultrasound diagnosis, photographs, external and internal examination.

Results: The gestational age ranged from 16weeks to 44weeks and the mean weight was 1123.96gm. Out of 391 cases urinary anomalies encountered in 19 cases (4.9%). Out of 19 cases, anomalies of renal parenchyma were seen in 15 cases (78.9%) and anomalies of pelvi-ureters and bladder was seen in 4 cases (21.1%). Three cases of urinary anomalies were associated with syndromes and 8 cases were associated with other system anomalies.

Conclusion: The perinatal autopsy after termination of pregnancy is essential to confirm the ultrasound findings and to make a definitive diagnosis.

Now a days, Human identification has become a major issue. Many biometric authentications like fingerprint, Iris, hand veins, etc., were introduced to identify individuals and they have more complex features in it. Under numerous occasions like disasters, traditional biometric attributes like fingerprints and so on, may not work in light of their contrariness in such cases. They may lead once in a while towards high blunder rate and furthermore the investigation is more perplexing. Biometric using dental features are becoming a leading technique for human identification. Research says that dental features of persons are unique by nature. By research, it was found that the maxillary and mandible jaws of every individual are found to be unique. Here, the majority of the likenesses are coordinated with the goal that person can be actually recognized by its novel element. Along these lines dental biometrics gets need over rather in considering highlights and examination perspective. In this sense, it has been a savvy way to deal with investigate the new fields of exploration. In this paper, a human dental biometric image processing system has been implemented using MATLAB software for easy identification and this system is rotation invariant with greater accuracy.

Background: The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1996 )Act 92 of 1996) has so far had very little impact on criminal abortions in the Transkei region of South Africa. This raises the serious question why the women opt for an illegal abortion rather than go to designated legal abortion clinics which carry out safe abortions in South Africa. Objective: To study the underlying reasonswomen,prefer to go for an illegal abortion in Transkei region of South Africa. Method: Two medical students voluntarily found out the facts regarding illegal abortions in Transkei region of South Africa. These students went to an illegal abortionist and then described in a student research assignment what they saw there. Results: In 2015 two medical students consulted both a legal and an illegal abortionist facility in rural pretendingtowant an abortion. Their conversationswere recorded. The legal clinic was not user-friendly, misbehaved with the girls, cast doubt on their confidentiality and took a long time to do the abortions, while the illegal abortionist charged money for their service, but they were quick and kept confidentiality. Conclusion: Illegal facilities are more user-friendly and ensured confidentiality which leads to women going to anillegal abortionist instead. Keywords | Abortion, Confidentiality, Illegal abortion, Abortion clinic.

Stature is one of the major parameters for ascertaining the identity of an individual. Mathematical correlation of length of long bones to the overall stature has been an established method of estimation of height for unidentified individuals. In the present study 100 individuals of either sex, in the age group of 20 – 25 years were studied and their percutaneous tibial lengths were correlated with overall stature. Differences were noted in the tibial lengths of right and left sides in the same individual and also among tibial length in individuals with similar height. Regression analysis was carried out and formulae were developed for stature estimation. Comparisons were made with different regional studies and it was concluded that with varying statures in different populations, region specific studies need to be carried out for every population group.