Torture by excision and ingestion of the ear helix.
The forensic medical documentation of torture is important to the legal disposition of cases of alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated on civilian populations. Most injuries that have been attributed to torture are not 'aietologically specific' of torture, and take the form of blunt impact trauma and thermal injuries that are consistent with, but not diagnostic of, alleged torture. In this case report, excision of the helix of the pinna and subsequent forced ingestion of the amputated segment is described in the context of torture.
Pollanen
Michael S
MS
Forensic Pathology Unit, Office of the Chief Coroner, Toronto, Ont., Canada.