ABSTRACT
Organomegaly can be a strong predictor of an underlying pathological condition. There are many standard tables available in various texts listing the normal organ weight range, yet there is a lack of a standard table that is accepted globally. The main reason behind this is variation in organ weight due to socioeconomic status, geographical variation, and racial and stature variation among different global populations. The Western population has different stature compared to our population, that is, residents of Uttarakhand, India. Different studies tabulated organ weights in different regions of the world and correlated with different bodily parameters such as sex, race, stature, BMI, etc, which have shown a significant variation. There are different sets of data available that cannot be accepted universally due to regional variation. Most of the studies done in various parts of the world do not specify the condition of the organ, whether it was normal at the time of study or not. The methods of dissection of organs were also not explained in different studies. In this study, a total of eight organs were weighed from 137 autopsies conducted at the mortuary of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Rishikesh over a period of 1.5 years. It was found that the average brain weighed in males was 1313.2 gm (±127.7 gm) and among females, it was 1218.0 gm (±122.82 gm). The weight of the heart was 310.1 gm (±83.97 gm) in males and 241.2 gm (±71.42 gm) in females. Right and left lungs weighed 499.4 gm (±207.5 gm)/407.5 gm (±128.66 gm) and 459.6 gm (±179.19 gm)/369.4 gm (±144.17 gm) among males and females, respectively. The liver weight was 1477.0 gm (±370.52 gm) in males and 1309.0 gm (±274.18 gm) among females. Spleen weighed 154.0 gm (±74.63 gm) in males and 156.0 gm (±65.0 gm) in females. The right and left kidneys weighed 125.9 gm (±37.92 gm)/108.1 gm (±28.80 gm) and 126.3 gm (±31.26 gm)/106.6 gm (±22.4 gm) among males and females, respectively. In our study, we have done a histological examination to rule out any pathological condition before including the weight of the organs in the study. The present study is to derive a standard organ weight among the inhabitants of Uttarakhand, India, and to look for a variation in organ weight among different studies done in the past in different regions of the world.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Incomplete and inaccurate medico-legal report (MLR) often slow down the court trials and lead to incorrect judgments. Identification of such mistakes and shortcomings in the report can help in preventing litigations against doctors, unbiased court judgments, and injustice. Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit (CFMU) deals with all medico-legal cases (MLC) brought to the institution. It prepares MLR's, collect evidence, and supervises medicolegal issues of the institute. MATERIAL & METHOD: Pre-CFMU included 50 poisoning and 50 non-poisoning reports, selected randomly among 504 cases. Post-CFMU also included 50 poisoning and 50 non-poisoning reports, which were chosen randomly among total 588 cases. RESULT: Comparing the pre and post CFMU non-poisoning reports, the following parameters were statistically significant; date and time of examination, address of the patient, details of accompanied police, details of attendant, identification marks, history of incidence, consent, description, dimension, location and age of injuries, pictorial presentation, general condition of the patient on arrival, and final opinion. Comparing the pre and post CFMU poisoning reports, statistically significant results were obtained for the following parameters; address of the patient, identification marks, history of incidence, consent, general condition of the patient on arrival, details of evidence collected, preservative used, seal status, and final opinion. CONCLUSION: The present study concludes that the errors were significantly reduced in medico-legal reports prepared by forensic experts. It is, therefore, necessary to employ forensic experts at every healthcare facility not only to prevent lawsuits but also to strengthen the judiciary. Additionally, we recommend regular training of non-forensic professionals to acquaint them with medico-legal work.
