title: Death by biscuit--exhumation, post-mortem CT, and revision of the cause of death one year after interment.
abstract: We describe a case of exhumation, performed to investigate the circumstances and cause of death, one year after burial. Post mortem computed tomography (PMCT) revealed a mass in the pharynx. Imaging directed the subsequent forensic autopsy to careful retrieval of a foreign body. Histological analysis revealed a non-cellular composition. The detection of foreign material in the pharynx and its composition indicated accidental, rather than natural death, secondary to choking on food. This unusual case illustrates how post mortem imaging can significantly contribute to forensic investigation and stresses the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between forensic pathologists and radiologists.
authors.affiliation: Center of Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Buehlstrasse 20, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Yannick A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Thali
authors.forename: Stephan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bolliger
authors.forename: Gary M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Hatch
authors.forename: Garyfalia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ampanozi
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Thali
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Ruder
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000150:complications; D049249:Exhumation; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects*; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed