Acute pulmonary emphysema in death by hanging: a morphometric digital study

Article Article scientifique Article Acute pulmonary emphysema in death by hanging: a morphometric digital study eng 2016 author Castiglioni Claudia 813836 author Baumann Pia Patricia 867411 author Fracasso Tony 731584 1281-1285 10.1007/s00414-016-1418-0 27448112 0937-9827 Acute pulmonary emphysema (APE) has been described in cases of mechanical asphyxia such as ligature or manual strangulation but not in cases of hanging. In this study, we wanted to verify by morphometric digital analysis of lung tissue whether APE occurs in death by hanging.We investigated 16 cases of hanging (eight complete, eight incomplete), 10 cases of freshwater drowning (positive control group), and 10 cases of acute external bleeding (negative control group). Tissue sections were obtained from each pulmonary lobe. For each slide, five fields were randomly selected. The area of every alveolar space was measured by image analysis software. The mean alveolar area (MAA) was calculated for each group.In incomplete hanging, MAA was significantly higher than that observed in complete hanging and similar to the one observed in freshwater drowning.APE in cases of incomplete hanging can be considered as a sign of vitality. The high number of conditions that can cause alveolar distension (that were excluded in this study) limits the applicability of this vital sign in the routine forensic practice. Adult Asphyxia/pathology Case-Control Studies Female Humans Male Middle Aged Neck Injuries/pathology Pulmonary Alveoli/pathology Pulmonary Emphysema/pathology Dewey 614.1 67 Institut de médecine légale 22A2 false 953 Groupe Fracasso Tony 959 International Journal of Legal Medicine 130 5 2ec58e38-b0af-4332-966b-db45858c96ca Article (Published version) Restricted 27448112.pdf 771103 application/pdf restrictedAccess Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de santé et médecine communautaires / Institut de médecine légale

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Acute pulmonary emphysema in death by hanging: a morphometric digital study	International Journal of Legal Medicine			2016	436	0

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Castiglioni, Claudia