title: Survival of a victim of Isadora Duncan syndrome: a case report.
abstract: Incidents of accidental strangulation by uncovered (open-spoked) wheels of vehicles are not uncommon but survival following such incidents is quite a rare phenomenon. The possibility of death from strangulation by a scarf getting caught in the wheel spokes of a vehicle was brought to the public's attention when the world famous dancer Isadora Duncan died on 14 September 1929. Cycle-powered rickshaws, bicycles and bullock-carts remain common forms of transport in India. However, the uncovered spokes of the vehicle wheel can trap the dupatta/chunni/odhani (long scarf worn around neck) worn by Indian women. A number of cases of fatal accidental strangulation have been described by different authors involving vehicles like cycle-powered rickshaws, bicycles and bullock-carts, with very few cases of reported survivors. Here we report a case of accidental strangulation involving a young girl with the dupatta getting caught in moving wheel of a bullock-cart, in which the victim survived in spite of severe injury to neck structures.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Ashwini Rural Medical College (ARMC), India.
authors.forename: Anand B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mugadlimath
authors.forename: Mandar Ramchandra
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sane
authors.forename: Sunil M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kallur
authors.forename: Mallikarjun N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Patil
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000293:Adolescent; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D017741:Survivors
keywords: Asphyxia; Isadora Duncan syndrome; accidental strangulation