A tree branch instead of a ligature: an unusual accidental hanging

A unique case of accidental hanging due to compression of the neck of an adult by the branches of a coffee tree is reported. The decedent was a 42-year-old male who was found dead in a semi prone position on a slope. His neck was lodged in a wedge formed by two branches of a coffee tree, with his legs angled downwards on the slope. Autopsy revealed two friction abrasions located horizontally on either side of the front of the neck, just above the larynx. The findings were compatible with compression of the neck by the branches of the tree, with the body weight of the decedent contributing to compression. Subsequent complete autopsy examination confirmed the cause of death as hanging. Following an inquest the death was ruled to be accidental.     

Survival following accidental ligature strangulation: a case report

Survival following accidental ligature strangulation is quite rare. The present case involves an adult male strangulated by a soft cotton cloth entangled in the rotor of a machine. Unilateral neck compression allowed survival of the victim. The victim escaped with minimal injuries which were limited to contusion of the neck and edema of the vocal cords and inter arytenoid region.     

Suicidal strangulation by ligature: three case reports

Self-strangulation by ligature is distinctly uncommon. It is distinct from self-suspension in cases of hanging, the latter being a far more common form of suicide. Self-strangulation must be separated from homicidal strangulation and from accidental sexual asphyxia. The ligature in suicidal strangulation may be knotted or tightened like a tourniquet. As the ligature is tightened the face and neck may become congested due to slow venous compression. Laryngeal fractures are rare and injuries are mild and often confined to the single ligature mark around the neck. The three cases discussed here were initially treated by the police as suspicious. Detailed examination of the scene and of the deceased person, along with investigation of the circumstances leading to the death, produced clear verdicts of suicide in all three cases.     

Non-traumatic bicycle injuries : a review of the literature

Bicycle riding is a popular form of recreation, fitness and transportation in many areas of the world. Traumatic injuries associated with bicycle riding have been documented and intervention strategies have been successful. This has not been the case for non-traumatic injuries. The prevalence of non-traumatic bicycle injuries can be as high as 85%. The most common sites for non-traumatic cycling-related injuries include the knee, neck/shoulder, hands, buttock and perineum. Two categories of injuries that may have the greatest impact on disability include ulnar and median nerve palsy, and erectile dysfunction. Injury prevention strategies have been proposed to reduce non-traumatic injuries but these strategies remain untested.     

Accidental strangulation of a mentally retarded patient by a clothing collar: a case report

A 40-year-old mentally retarded woman died of accidental strangulation in a nursing home. She was found in a kneeling position with her hands on her knees and the collar of her clothing compressing the front and sides of the neck. Before the accident, a nurse had dressed the patient in one-piece overall-style pyjamas put on back to front so that she could not remove the garment herself. The post-mortem findings and reconstruction of the scene of death suggested that the patient had been strangled by the collar of her backward-facing clothing while in a kneeling position. Because patients with psychiatric illnesses may have a limited ability to recognize or communicate symptoms of physical danger, they must be closely monitored by knowledgeable medical and nursing staff. This case highlights the importance of preventing the accidental deaths of mentally retarded patients in nursing homes.     

Case reports. 2. Accidental strangulation: a case report

Accidental strangulation, though reported, is uncommon. We report a case of an unusual accidental strangulation in which the floating end of the 'saree' of the pillion rider of a two-wheeler motorcycle got entangled in the moving rear wheel and constricted her neck. To our knowledge this is the first case of its type involving a two-wheeler motorcycle. Comments are also given on traditional Indian wear and safety measures required in two-wheelers to prevent such incidents.     

昆明高速公路致死性交通伤流行病学特点及救治要点

目的 分析昆明市周高速公路致死性伤亡特点,探讨归避及救治要点.方法 设计调查表,规范调查内容,对近3年伤亡事故发生时间、环境、伤情伤部等资料进行整理分析.结果 昆明市周高速公路的事故发生率近3年变化不大,但现场伤亡率呈增加态势;时间分布上1、8月份死亡率高于平时;18:00～02:00为伤亡高峰时段;尾随相撞是主要车祸...     

Sexual asphyxia by hanging--a case report and a review of the literature

A case of sexual asphyxial death by hanging is presented. A 35-year-old male, found dead lying on his face in a bed of a truck cab, had hanged himself from a window frame using a leather belt. He was completely naked. There were pornographic and sadomasochistic magazines beneath his face, opened to pages depicted nude photographs of a woman. Autopsy findings revealed a ligature mark on the neck and petechial hemorrhages in the conjunctivae, but there were no hemorrhages in the neck muscles or fractures of the hyoid bone or the thyroid cartilage. The alcohol levels in the blood and urine were 0.78 and 0.45 mg/ml, respectively. The circumstances suggested that his death was accidental, and due to asphyxia by hanging performed to enhance sexual gratification during masturbation. Sexual asphyxia is reviewed and discussed.     

An autopsy case of a charred body which committed suicide after arson

A severely burned body was found lying on its right side at the scene of the fire in a 2-story wooden apartment house. The presence of a ligature (an electrical cord) running horizontally around the neck aroused suspicion of arson after homicidal strangulation (murder-arson). The entire body was severely burned and partly charred. The head and neck were severely charred, and the left temporal bone had been consumed exposing the brain. Around the neck was looped an electrical cord, which ran horizontally and canted downward toward the nape, leaving a furrow resulting from the knot being tightened up. No other injuries or pathologic lesions suggestive of the cause of death were noted. No drug, poison or alcohol was detectable in the blood or urine. The peculiar method of making a noose of the ligature around the neck is called clove hitch, which makes the noose tighten further with increased load. The fallen curtain rod had a bend with an acute angle, which was considered to have been the point of suspension in hanging. In addition, a lighter was found under the corpse, which was presumably used to ignite the gasoline that the deceased sprinkled. We speculate, therefore, that the deceased hanged himself by placing the electrical cord around his neck (by clove hitch), suspending it from the curtain rod, sprinkling gasoline in his room, igniting it with a lighter, executing suicidal hanging after the start of the fire. Probably the body was wrapped in flames while dangling, then fell to the floor together with the collapsing curtain rod.     

Unusual suicide with an electric Jigsaw: A case report and literature review

Fatal injuries caused by power saws are rare. In most cases, they are accidental and non-voluntary. Even rarer are suicides carried out using power saws, with no previously reported cases of suicide by electric jigsaw. We report a case of suicide by electric jigsaw of a young obese woman suffering from major depression with psychotic features. The peculiarity of our case - compared to those known in the scientific literature - concerns not only the means used for suicide, but also the results of psychological autopsy and the characteristics of the fatal injury. In fact, the autopsy showed a large wound on the anterior and lateral region of the neck with preservation of the integrity of the large vessels of the neck. The cause of death was attributed to haemorrhagic shock due to slow bleeding of small and medium calibre neck vessels, with blood aspiration.     

Characteristics of human movement and injury in a side collision between the front of a small car and a bicycle

ObjectiveOur research groups have studied the movement and injury characteristics of the human body in a side collision between the front of a small car and a pedestrian. This study discusses the movement and injury characteristics of the human body in a side collision between the front of a small car and bicycle.MethodsA total of 31 cases of traffic accidents caused by small car collisions when riding a bicycle across a road were collected. Through on-site inspection and trace inspection of the accident vehicles and bicycles, the speed of the car during the collision was calculated, the collision relationship between the small car and bicycle was determined, and the injury site and degree were determined through autopsy. The car speed was divided into two groups: <60 km/h and >60 km/h. Injuries of the skull, cervical spine, ribs, pelvis, femur and tibiofibular were analysed, and the correlations with the height of the bicycle controller, the height of the bicycle seat, the height of the car hood and the length of hood were discussed. PC-Crash was used for simulation analysis to further clarify the injury process.ResultsThe ratio of the height of the bicycle seat to the height of the hood plus the length of the hood in the windshield-damaged group was larger than that in the undamaged windshield group (P < 0.05). No cervical fracture was found when V < 60 km/h, and 52.94% of cases had cervical fracture when V > 60 km/h. The ratio of the height of the bicycle seat to the height of the hood in the pelvic fracture group was smaller than that in the nonpelvic fracture group (P < 0.05). The incidence of tibiofibular fracture was less than 65%.ConclusionsWhen a side impact between a car front and a bicycle occurs, the resulting human injury is related not only to the speed but also to the height of the bicycle seat and the height and length of the hood of the car. The incidence of tibiofibular fractures was significantly lower than that of small car front-pedestrian side impacts.     

Neck Protection in suicidal hanging

Padding, or protecting the neck while hanging, while not rare, may suggest autoerotic activity to less experienced pathologists. Three cases are reported, however, to illustrate two types of neck protection that may occur in suicidal hangings to show an alternative scenario. Case 1: a 38-year-old woman had a grey woollen scarf around her neck underneath a plaited ligature made from sheeting. Case 2: the 57-year-old male partner of Case 1 had a black and white scarf around his neck underneath a ligature made from a plaited sheet. Case 3: a 57-year-old woman had positioned the fingers from both hands beneath a ligature around her neck. The cause of death in each case was hanging, the manner suicide. These cases show that padding of the neck beneath ligatures may on occasion be a feature of suicidal hangings, and also that victims may insert their fingers between the ligature and the neck possibly to reduce the discomfort from ligature compression. Although any unusual features in hanging deaths should be fully investigated, protecting of the neck with padding or finger insertion under ligatures may occur in otherwise relatively straightforward cases of suicide.     

彩色B超对胎儿脐带绕颈的诊断价值及临床意义

目的探讨彩色B超对产前胎儿脐带绕颈的诊断价值及临床意义。方法对孕28至36周（平均孕周32周）孕妇1248例进行彩色B超检查，着重观察胎儿颈部有无脐带绕颈的情况。结果1248例胎儿产前B超检查发现脐带绕颈339例，产后临床判定有320例脐带绕颈，脐带绕颈发生率为27％，彩色B超诊断准确率为94％。结论彩超可准确诊断胎儿脐带绕颈，同时为临床医师观察产程、选择分娩方式提供可靠的依据。     

B超对脐带绕颈的诊断(附278例分析)

目的评价B超对脐带绕颈诊断的价值。材料与方法收集我院18个月应用B超诊断脐带绕颈278例,并采取相应的分娩方式进行临床分析。结果B超诊断脐带绕颈278例经产后证实为248例,符合率为89．2％,脐带绕颈一周212例占87％,绕颈2周31例占11．2％,绕颈3周以上5例占1．8％。结论B超检查对产前诊断脐带绕颈有重要意义,有利于正确处理产程中出现的各种情况,达到优生的目的     

Industrial accidental deaths in the Niger delta region of Nigeria: a study of 32 autopsies in Port Harcourt

Accidents in the oil industry in the Niger delta region of Nigera raise concerns about safety measures and the management of industrial sites. A total of 32 autopsies were performed after coroners' inquest forms were served on the authors by the State, which serve as consent and request. Standard procedures were adopted in all the cases and the reports were appropriately issued. Death from industrial accidents accounted for 2.5% and 6.1% of total autopsies and accidental death autopsies respectively. The youngest victim was a 19 year old male while the oldest was a 55 year old male. The age group 30-39 years was the most vulnerable. There was a male dominance; (male:female ratio = 9.7:1). The commonest accidents in their order of frequency were: falling from a height, explosion/fire, motor vehicle accidents and falling objects. Multiple injuries, head and neck trauma and drowning were the commonest cause of death at autopsy. Accidental deaths were commoner in the small-scale industries (81%) than in the large-scale industries (19%). This is the first time such a study has been carried out locally. The proportion of accidental deaths in the small scale industries relative to that of the large ones may be attributed to the poor enforcement of safety measures in the smaller industries     

Exercise intensity conversion from a bicycle ergometer to a treadmill.

In the evaluation of the general functional fitness and/or work capacity of subjects for the purpose of exercise diagnostics, physical fitness enhancement in untrained healthy subjects or sportsmen and exercise rehabilitation of patients, two types of ergometers are generally used: a bicycle ergometer and a treadmill. To facilitate the conversion of results of functional examinations made in the laboratory to field conditions, where, as a rule, physical activity is performed, the intensity of exercise assessed on the bicycle ergometer must be converted to that on a treadmill and vice versa. Measurements on a bicycle ergometer and treadmill in differently trained groups of men can be supplemented with data from the literature to develop a general equation which relates exercise intensity on the bicycle ergometer P (W.kg-1) and running speed on the treadmill v (km.h-1) as v = 3.544.P +/- 0.625. In the submaximal range of exercise intensities (20-80% of maximal aerobic power) this relationship is independent on the training status, age, body weight, strength and speed capacity of the subjects examined. The above equation may be used in the submaximal exercise intensity range with a maximum error of about 12% or less.     

Suicidal ligature strangulation utilizing cable ties: a report of three cases

In 2006 the US National Vital Statistics Report recorded 33,300 suicides in the United States, of which hanging, strangulation and suffocation combined to account for 7,491 (22.5%) of the cases. Self strangulation by ligature is uncommon and in the majority of cases, scarves, belts, neckties and rope are used. We report three instances where cable ties were secured around the neck in order to commit suicide. All had a history of depression. One was a 37-year-old man who used a belt to complete the act after an unsuccessful attempt to use cable ties. The second was a 63-year old woman who used multiple cable ties to accomplish her goal. In the third case a tensioning tool was used by a 54-year old man to tighten a cable tie around his neck during self strangulation. Utilization of a tool to tighten the cable ties has not previously been reported.     

Rare presentations of ordinary lipomas of the head and neck: a review

The ordinary lipoma is the most common neoplasm of mesenchymal origin. Only 13% of them arise in the head and neck region and most of these occur subcutaneously in the posterior neck. Rarely, they can develop in the anterior neck, infratemporal fossa, and in or around the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and parotid gland. Clinically, they can be confused with other benign lesions; however, CT allows a specific diagnosis to be made in virtually all cases. This article reviews the CT appearance and differential diagnoses of lipomas in these rare locations and discusses the rare infiltrating lipoma and the relationship between parotid lipomatosis and sialosis.