Suicide by head explosion: unusual blast wave injuries to the cardiovascular system.
A 57-year-old employee in a military scientific institute was found acephalous in a supine position in an anteroom to the bunker. On the walls was abundant spattering of blood and tissue, concentrated above shoulder height. A mobile ignition device stood on the control desk. The complete destruction of the head down to the cervical spine suggested that the explosive charge (RDX) detonated in his mouth. The hands were virtually uninjured. The pressure effect in vessels caused numerous tears to the wall of the carotid arteries and the left vertebral artery, a tear-off of the left carotid artery of the aortic arch, and a 2.5-cm long crack of the thoracic aorta with 540-ml blood in the pericardial sac and a shredded window-like disruption of the left aortic valve cusp. The autopsy also showed an infraction of the sternum from the inside, and a contusion of the superior lobes of both lungs. The trace pattern on the right arm suggested suicide. A bone fragment of the mandible penetrated the right biceps muscle as a secondary projectile.
Schyma
Christian
C
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. Christian.Schyma@ukb.uni-bonn.de
Hagemeier
Lars
L
Madea
Burkhard
B
D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D020212:Carotid Artery Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D003288:Contusions / Q000473:pathology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000473:pathology*; D049248:Decapitation / Q000473:pathology*; D005107:Explosions / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005858:Germany; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D010496:Pericardium / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology
J Trauma. 1989 May;29(5):609-12
2724378
Toxicology. 1997 Jul 25;121(1):17-28
9217312
J Trauma. 2009 May;66(5):1468-77; discussion 1477
19430256
Arch Kriminol. 2001 Nov-Dec;208(5-6):139-48
11824094
J Forensic Sci. 2008 Nov;53(6):1313-5
18752551
Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2003 Mar;24(1):55-63
12605000
Arch Kriminol. 2006 Jan-Feb;217(1-2):10-9
16529177
Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 1999 Jun;20(2):136-40
10414652
Forensic Sci Int. 1987 May-Jun;34(1-2):1-15
3596401
Med Sci Law. 1976 Oct;16(4):235-9
979550
Int J Legal Med. 1992;105(1):35-7
1503997
Arch Kriminol. 2006 Jan-Feb;217(1-2):36-44
16529179
Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2003 Jun;24(2):107-13
12773843