title: Autopsy imaging for cardiac tamponade in a Thoroughbred foal.
abstract: Autopsy imaging (Ai), postmortem imaging before necropsy, is used in human forensic medicine. Ai was performed using computed tomography (CT) for a 1-month-old Thoroughbred foal cadaver found in a pasture. CT revealed pericardial effusion, collapse of the aorta, bleeding in the lung lobe, gas in the ventricles and liver parenchyma, and distension of the digestive tract. Rupture in the left auricle was confirmed by necropsy; however, it was not depicted on CT. Therefore, Ai and conventional necropsy are considered to complement each other. The cause of death was determined to be traumatic cardiac tamponade. In conclusion, Ai is an additional option for determining cause of death.
authors.affiliation: Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Present affiliation: Azabu University, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Hidaka Training and Research Center, Japan Racing Association, Hokkaido 057-0171, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.affiliation: NOSAI Hidaka, Hokkaido 059-3105, Japan.
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.affiliation: Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiyasu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nambo
keywords: Thoroughbred; autopsy imaging (Ai); cardiac tamponade; computed tomography