title: An autopsy case of commotio cordis from a motor scooter accident.
abstract: A motor scooter carrying two 15-year-old boys collided with the back of an open, parked truck. The tailgate of the truck was down and in a horizontal position. At the autopsy of the driver, horizontal tramline bruises were found on the anterior chest, but the thoracic cage was intact. There was a transverse tear of the ascending aorta with adventitial hematoma, but significant bleeding was not found in the pericardial sac or the thoracic cavities. Therefore, it was obvious that cardiovascular collapse occurred immediately after the accident. Neither injuries nor diseases that would cause the instantaneous death were found on examination of the whole body. We determined that the driver died of commotio cordis due to blunt force to the anterior chest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0215, Japan. miyazaki@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ihama
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuke
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D001011:Aorta / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D056104:Commotio Cordis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003288:Contusions / Q000473:pathology; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006406:Hematoma / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006810:Humeral Fractures / Q000473:pathology; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009049:Motorcycles; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D012421:Rupture; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000473:pathology