Virtopsy: CT and MR imaging of a fatal head injury caused by a hatchet: A case report.
Hatchet blows to the human skull often cause fatal injuries. We present a case of homicide by hatchet blow that underwent CT, MRI, and autopsy examination. Skull fragmentation, fracture lines, and brain injuries were demonstrated prior to autopsy. Many of the hatchet-specific characteristics (flaking, crushing, shattering, and fracture lines) described in literature were observed in the post-mortem imaging of this case.
Ampanozi
Garyfalia
G
University of Bern, Centre for Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy, Institute of Forensic Medicine, IRM, Buehlstrasse 20, CH 3012 Bern, Switzerland. Garyfalia.Ampanozi@irm.unibe.ch
Ruder
Thomas D
TD
Preiss
Ulrich
U
Aschenbroich
Kerstin
K
Germerott
Tanja
T
Filograna
Laura
L
Thali
Michael J
MJ
D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000473:pathology*