title: Wischnewski revisited. The diagnostic value of gastric mucosal ulcers in hypothermic deaths.
abstract: Hypothermia is defined as a subnormal body temperature. In this article, hypothermia refers to the loss of core temperature from exposure. When death results from hypothermia, a series of gastric mucosal erosions known as "Wischnewski ulcers" (1) frequently occur. In examining case material of the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office, a characteristic pattern of these ulcerations was seen that was indicative of severe physiologic stress and/or hypothermia. While not pathognomonic of hypothermia, the incidence of the erosions in a specific pattern has been closely associated with deaths in which hypothermia played a significant role. In hypothermia, the erosions, usually shallow and approximately 0.1-0.5 cm in diameter, are set in lines with roughly equidistant spacing, thereby forming a pattern of rectangles with the corners marked by the ulcerations.
authors.affiliation: Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office, Syracuse, New York.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Birchmeyer
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000473:pathology*; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000473:pathology*