Heat induced morphological changes in the brain.

ABSTRACT

In severe conflagration the terminal state of the body often does not reflect the condition at the time of death. Some-times death might have occurred before any heat reaches the body and the death might have been caused by inhalation of smoke. It is difficult or rather impossible for the forensic expert to determine the extent of ante-mortem damage caused by flames. The classical distinction of “red flare or vital reaction” are usually absent in such cases. Destruction of the victim by fire is one of the oldest methods used by murderers to conceal their crime, and hence every death by burning require the most meticulous medico-legal scrutiny. Here we report an unusual cases of heat induced morphological changes in brain in a 60 years male, who was addicted to alcohol and smoking and found burnt on his bed in a locked room from inside. Typical vital reaction was not appreciable anywhere on the body so as to frame the opinion in favour in ante-mortem burns but on of dissection of skull certain unusual gross pathological finding was observed which helped in framing the opinion in favour of “Death due to accidental antemortem flame burns”.