Estimation of Stature from Ring Finger Length in Haryanavi Population: An Anthropometric Study

Introduction: Stature helps to determine a person’s identity. In dead and mutilated bodies, height can be estimated from body parameters using a regression equation or multiplication factor.Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted to find the multiplication factor between percutaneous ring finger length (RFL) and stature in the Haryana region, for which 145 medical students (80 males and 65 females) of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, were measured. The correlation coefficient between height and RFL was found to be positive.Results: Stature can be accurately estimated from RFL using simple regression equation or multiplication factor. The regression equation determined for male was Height = 1.798 × RFL + 158.6 and for female was Height = 0.919 × RFL + 152.3.Conclusions: Our study has a great importance to estimate stature from RFL among Haryana region from the anatomical and medicolegal point of view.

Health hazards at autopsy – A review article.

The postmortem room is a source of potential hazards to the health of forensic experts, pathologists and mortuary technicians. Infectious pathogens in cadavers that present particular risk include mycobacterium tuberculosis, HBV, HCV, HIV and prions that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and gerstmann-strausster-sheinker syndrome (GSS). This review focuses specifically on these hazards associated with the autopsy of infected patients.

Epidermolytic Hyperkeratosis – A rare case report.

A 20 year old boy presented to the dermatology department for treatment of a congenital icthyosis with a history of generalized erythroderma and trauma related blistering since birth. At the time of presentation he was noted to have red hyperkeratotic plaques all over the body. Lesions were corrugated over the joint flexures, elbows, knees, and dorsal of hands. In the subsequent months after birth erythema and blistering improved but patient developed hyperkeratotic scaling that was especially prominent over the joint flexures neck, hands and feet. Treatment options include urea or alpha-hydroxy acid containing creams as well as topical and systemic retinoids.

Flies solve dowry death mystery: A case report.

Unnatural deaths of married women amongst the total female deaths have shown an increasing trend in Indian society during the recent years. These unnatural deaths may be suicidal, homicidal or accidental but suicidal deaths are most common. In India, dowry is an persistent evil, even among educated societies, there is no escape from the brutality of in- laws met and some of these oppressed young women choose to commit suicide, either by burning, poisoning or by some other means. The burden of finding the cause of death lies on the shoulders of forensic experts. In this peculiar case, history and findings were confusing and inconclusive. Then as the ray of hope, flies of autopsy room came to teach us importance of patient observation in Forensic Medicine.

A review of pedestrian traffic fatalities.

Pedestrians injured in automobile accidents constitute one of the most frequent serious problems in management for emergency room surgeons. The incidence of deaths in pedestrians is significantly higher than in other road users. This study attempted to analyse the pattern of injuries sustained by 129 pedestrians in road traffic accidents. It was found that the pedestrians were the commonest group of victims involved in fatal road accidents comprising 28.7% of all cases. 83.7% cases were males. There were two peaks of incidence in relation to age; one at childhood (20.9%) and the other in elderly (19.37%). Cars and heavy vehicles were the commonest offending agents comprising 41.9% and 31.8% respectively. The pedestrians themselves were at fault in 43.4% cases. Head injury was seen in 80% cases; followed by lower limb fractures (42.6%), and chest injury (38.8%). The cause of death was head injury in 56.6% cases followed by thoraco-abdominal injuries in 8.5% cases and multiple injuries in 7.8% cases.

Pink teeth in toxicology.

Pink teeth may be seen after trauma, a fight or car accident, and barbiturate poisoning. Pink dentine is visible by external inspection, although a case could be made for any pigmentation present originally in the layers of the tooth root having been leached out over the course of time. In the cases reported in the forensic literature two strong factors seem to contribute to the appearance of the pink colouration. This paper reviews the causes, detection and factors responsible for pink teeth.

Sex related homicides and offenders: A medico-legalists view.

The advances in criminalistics and forensic psychiatry in these present times and the combined studies of workers of the specialties of Forensic Medicine and Psychiatry has led to renewed interest in investigating and documenting sex crimes. The term offender is used for a person who actively takes part in an offence or goes blatantly against the law. The term can be simultaneously / interchangeably used for a criminal. Sex related homicides include rape murders, serial murders, killings involving both of anal and oral sodomy and other acts of sexual perversions terminating in homicide. In this paper a brief summarization of sex related crimes, their psychodynamics and offender profile is detailed with comparative comments vis-à-vis the Indian and Western scenarios.

Pattern and distribution of injuries in fatal road traffic accidents in Rohtak (Haryana).

Accidents are now one of the major causes of death. In this study pathological features of these cases as type of injury, pattern and distribution of injuries, body parts involved, fatal injuries and cause of deaths were noted at the actual autopsy examination of victim. All the data thus collected was analyzed statistically.