title: Unusual suicide with a chainsaw.
abstract: Described here is a case of suicide with the use of a chainsaw. A female suffering from schizophrenia committed suicide by an ingenious use of a chainsaw that resulted in the transection of her cervical spine and spinal cord. The findings of the resulting investigation are described and the mechanism of suicides with the use of a chainsaw is reviewed. A dry bone study was realized to determine the bone sections, the correlation between anatomic lesions and characteristics of chainsaw. The damage of organs and soft tissues is compared according to the kinds of chainsaw used.
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine de Lille, Institut de Médecine Légale et Sociale, 59045 Lille Cedex, France. gilles.tournel@univ-lille2.fr
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tournel
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dédouit
authors.forename: Axelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balgairies
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Houssaye
authors.forename: Bérengère
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Angeli
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bécart-Robert
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pety
authors.forename: Valéry
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hédouin
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gosset
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D013405:Suicide; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology*