A fatal case of oral ingestion of benzine.
A young woman committed suicide by ingesting benzine. We report the findings obtained at autopsy and the chemical analyses of the gastric contents, blood, and tissues in this case. Fatal concentrations of n-hexane, benzene, toluene and m-, p-xylene were detected. Pulmonary edema and hemorrhage were caused by the primary effect of the chemicals or secondarily by respiratory depression, suffocation due to volatile fluid, or heart failure. Mild hemorrhage around arterioles and venules in the brain cortex suggest hyperpermeability of the vessels. The fragmentation and waviness of the cardiac myofibrils indicate the presence of hypercontraction and possibly arrhythmia.
Harada
K
K
Department of Legal Medicine, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.
Ichiyama
T
T
Ikeda
H
H
Yoshida
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000473:Alkanes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000506:poisoning*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D013405:Suicide; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D000473:Alkanes; C004544:naphtha