title: Virtopsy: fatal stab wounds to the skull--the relevance of ante-mortem and post-mortem radiological data in case reconstructions.
abstract: Homicides with a survival of several days are not uncommon in forensic routine work. Reconstructions of these cases by autopsy alone are very difficult and may occasionally lead to unsatisfying results. For the medico-legal reconstruction of these cases, ante-mortem and post-mortem radiological imaging should always be included in the expertise. We report on a case of fatal penetrating stab wounds to the skull in which a case reconstruction was only possible by combining the radiological ante- and post-mortem data with the autopsy findings.
authors.affiliation: Center Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy at the University of Bern, Institute of Forensic Medicine, Bern, Switzerland. lars.oesterhelweg@irm.unibe.ch
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oesterhelweg
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spendlove
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Schoen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christe
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Thali
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bolliger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D003933:Diagnosis; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000293:injuries; D013995:Time; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*