title: Four cases of orbital hyperdensity identified by postmortem computed tomography.
abstract: Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) has become a common examination method in the field of forensic medicine. Head computed tomography provides information of the orbit and eyes, and forensic pathologists may come across abnormal intraocular findings of cadavers upon PMCT. Here, we present four cases in which we identified orbital hyperdensity by PMCT. The first case showed calcified senile scleral plaques (CSSP), whereas the second case showed foreign bodies in the palpebral fissure, which resembled CSSP upon PMCT. The third case showed signs of silicone oil injection in the eye, while the fourth case showed bilateral phthisis bulbi. In the first case, the presence of CSSP was found to be helpful for age estimation, whereas the findings of cases 3 and 4 aided in the personal identification of the subjects. As demonstrated by these cases, intraocular PMCT findings may provide highly useful information, and correct interpretation of the intraocular PMCT findings by forensic pathologists is hence crucial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Sciences, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, Japan. Electronic address: tooshima@med.akita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. Electronic address: yossy@med.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Iwate 028-3694, Japan. Electronic address: dewakuma@iwate-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dewa
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Sciences, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, Japan. Electronic address: mohtani@doc.med.akita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohtani
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan. Electronic address: nakauchi@hyo-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakauchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Sciences, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, Japan. Electronic address: mimasaka@med.akita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Sohtaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mimasaka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D001766:Blindness / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002423:Cause of Death; D004332:Drowning; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012166:Retinal Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015422:Scleral Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: Forensic pathology; Hyperdensity; Ophthalmology; Orbit; Postmortem computed tomography