Air bag-mediated fatal craniocervical trauma: a case report.

This case report describes a four-year-old girl (102 cm, 17 kg) who sustained fatal craniocerebral injuries as a result of an inflating automobile air bag. The car struck the lid of the sewer system, which was 15 cm above the ground level, at a low speed, and both the driver and passenger air bags inflated. Despite the fact that air bag usage has lessened both the possibility and severity of occupant injuries in frontal collisions, case reports of serious injuries and even deaths especially in children due to air bag deployment, particularly during low speed impacts, highlight the need for changes in both system design and possibly the threshold speed of air bag deployment.

Fatalities caused by spherical bullets fired from blank cartridge guns in Istanbul, Turkey.

Blank cartridge guns are generally regarded as being harmless and are not considered to be firearms in the legal sense in most countries. To show the danger of these guns upon simple modifications, we report 59 fatalities resulting from these simply modified blank cartridge guns in Istanbul, Turkey. The great majority of the victims were males and the age of those ranged from 11 to 61 years. In 55.9% of these cases, homicide was the origin followed by suicide (39%). The right temporal region was detected to be the preferred region in suicidal shots by blank cartridge guns with a frequency of 56.5%. In trial shots, all these guns were detected to discharge steel or lead spherical objects, generally 4 or 5 mm in diameter, successfully. Our findings strongly suggest that these guns should also be considered as handguns in the legal sense.

[References to avoid complications in releases of the trigger thumb: a cadaveric study]. / Basparmak tetik parmak gevsetmelerinde olasi komplikasyonlardan kaçinma yollari: kadavra çalismasi.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this cadaveric study was to demonstrate the utility of some visible landmarks in the hand in avoiding probable complications during percutaneous or open releases performed for the trigger thumb associated with flexor tendon tenosynovitis. METHODS: In this cadaveric study, we dissected 20 thumbs of 10 fresh cadavers (10 males; mean age 46 years; range 31 to 62 years) from the interphalangeal to the metacarpophalangeal creases to expose all digital arteries, nerves, the flexor tendon, and the A1 pulley. The following distances were measured: from the proximal edge of the A1 pulley to the digital arteries and nerves, and to the interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal creases of the thumb. RESULTS: The proximal edge of the A1 pulley lies at a mean distance of 3.5 mm distal to the metacarpophalangeal crease, and about 35 mm distal to the interphalangeal crease. These values may be helpful during percutaneous releases in avoiding any injury to the radial digital nerve, which crosses the flexor tendon proximal to the A1 pulley. On the other hand, care should be taken for the ulnar digital nerve during open releases, which is at a higher risk than the radial digital nerve due to its closer proximity to the A1 pulley, the mean distances being 1.95 mm and 3.40 mm, respectively. CONCLUSION: These data are helpful in avoiding injuries to the digital nerves, which imply that the digital nerve on the ulnar side of the A1 pulley is more vulnerable during open releases, while the radial digital nerve proximal to the metacarpophalangeal crease is more vulnerable during percutaneous attempts. Complications can be avoided if the interphalangeal and palmar creases are taken into consideration.

Estimation of stature and determination of sex from radial and ulnar bone lengths in a Turkish corpse sample.

Determination of sex and estimation of stature are important aspects of forensic identification of an unknown individual. In the absence of pelvis the sex is assessed from long bones and cranium as they both provide high accuracy in sexing. The present study is an attempt to assess sex and stature from long bones of the forearm using recently deceased forensic cases in Istanbul, Turkey. The sample is composed of 80 males and 47 females with an average age of 36 and 30 years, respectively. Length measurements from the radius and ulna were obtained by exposing the epiphyseal ends of the long bones in a fashion similar to dry long bones. Discriminant function statistics showed a sex determination accuracy as high as 96%. Regression analysis was used in stature estimation from these two bones. Ideally osteological remains are necessary to make standards for osteological identification. These materials are not always easy to obtain and those available seem to be less ideal when they do not represent a current population. Forensic anthropologists therefore should develop techniques that utilize autopsy remains.

Suicidal deaths in childhood and adolescence.

Suicide has been reported as the second or third most common cause of death in children and adolescents worldwide. In this study, cases of under the age of 19 years submitted to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, First Specialization Board between 1996 and 2000 as suicides by the Board were evaluated retrospectively. The cases included in this study were the cases bearing locally questionable components, so had been submitted to the evaluations by the Board in order to eradicate the doubts. A total of 43 cases were investigated regarding age, gender, cause of death, manner of death, place of death, time of death, and the risk factors. Of the 43 cases evaluated, 31 cases were female and 12 cases were male. The notable suicide method was found to be firearms. Although it was clear that that not all of the suicide cases in this age group had been submitted to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, the most striking result of this study, nevertheless, was that girls constituted the 72% of suicidal deaths in this age group.

Fatalities due to methyl alcohol intoxication in Turkey: an 8-year study.

The aim of this study is to examine methyl alcohol poisoning cases from the medico-legal point of view. The records of the Morgue Department of Council of the Forensic Medicine were reviewed retrospectively for all methyl alcohol poisonings for the period of 27.10.1992 and 30.05.2001. The victim's age, sex, death year, death place, methyl alcohol blood levels, the source of methyl alcohol, accompanying laboratory results and histopathologic tissue changes were recorded. The number of deaths due to the methyl alcohol poisoning was 271 during that period of time. Two hundred and forty-two of the (89.3%) total 271 methyl alcohol fatalities were men and 29 (10.7%) of were women. The largest age group was 36-40 years old, followed by 41-45. The methyl alcohol blood concentrations ranged widely from 50 to 755 mg for per 100 ml. There were 222 cases (81.9%) with the methyl alcohol blood concentrations over 100 mg/dl. Twenty-nine (10.7%) victims were poisoned through the consumption of cologne and three of them with alcoholic beverage named "Raki". Consumed products were not known in all other cases because of insufficient patient history and data. As a conclusion, regarding the distribution according to years, mortality due to methyl alcohol intoxication in our country have been proceeding on a certain level. In order to decrease the mortality due to methyl alcohol intoxication, some precautions should be developed that could prevent the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages illegally produced.