Analysis of neck injuries in hanging.
Retrospective study of suicidal hangings was made on 175 cases (133 male victims, 42 female victims) for a 5-year period. The mean age was 47.33 +/- 17.51 years. The sample was divided in 4 groups according to the position of the ligature knot (anterior, right, left, and posterior hanging). The authors analyzed all visible injuries of soft tissues and bones and cartilage of the neck, and in 150 cases (85.7%), we established that there was at least one injury of these structures (hematoma or fracture for example). The most frequent injury was to sternocleidomastoid muscles. Fracture of throat skeleton was detected in 119 cases (68%). The proportion of fractures increases with age of the deceased. There was no clear correlation between frequency of neck injuries and type of hanging.
Nikolic
Slobodan
S
Institute of Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia. bobanvladislav@yahoo.com
Micic
Jelena
J
Atanasijevic
Tatjana
T
Djokic
Vesna
V
Djonic
Danijela
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D050724:Fractures, Cartilage; D006801:Humans; D006928:Hyoid Bone / Q000293:injuries; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013957:Thyroid Cartilage / Q000293:injuries; D015022:Yugoslavia / Q000453:epidemiology