[An autopsy case of lacerations of the heart probably due to chop wounds in the neck].
A 76-year-old lady was chopped to death with a hatchet on the neck and the area near the right clavicular bone. The medicolegal autopsy revealed the cause of death to be blood loss due to thrusts into the right common cervical artery, the pars cervicalis medullae spinalis and tamponade in the pericardial cavity. Additionally, two fresh lacerations in the right atrium of heart were observed without injuries on the outer layers such as skin, muscles and ribs. It was suggested that a shearing force of the impact from the chop wound might be indirectly applied to the right atrium resulting in lacerations of the heart.
Kimura
H
H
Department of Legal Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
Ito
Y
Y
Tsuda
R
R
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000293:injuries; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D019838:Neck Injuries; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000150:complications*