title: Complete decapitation of a motorcyclist in a road accident. A case report.
abstract: This is rare case of complete decapitation involving a 20-year-old motorcyclist. The motorcyclist sustained a heavy blow in the region of the neck against the right-side edge of a car compartment which resulted in his complete decapitation. The head of the motorcyclist was 37.5 m away from the car in the direction of the motorcycle movement. The collision speed of the motorcycle was about 133 km/h. Literature survey and the examination of injuries in this case have allowed us to conclude what the decapitation causing mechanism was and the force necessary to have complete decapitation. In our case the basic mechanism for decapitation was the direct trauma in the cervical region. The force needed for the complete decapitation ranges between 400 kgf and 800 kgf (3923 N-7846 N).
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Ivan D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Doichinov
authors.forename: Svetlosar S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Spasov
authors.forename: Todor S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Dobrev
authors.forename: Jonka A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Doichinova
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009049:Motorcycles; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000473:pathology*