title: Fluid content in the pleural cavity protects internal structures against heat.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this paper we present a case report of two people who were found dead in a holiday cottage after a fire. The cause of death in these cases was clarified by the presence of blood in the left pleural cavity in both bodies.
  
  
  METHODS
  An inspection of the bodies at the scene of the fire and subsequent examination by a medical examiner suggested the deaths were accidental.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An autopsy showed that the bodies were those of a man and a woman with severe carbonization of the skin, soft tissues, brain, and some organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavities. There were also isolated stab injuries to the chest, as well as injuries to skeletal structures and intrathoracic organs. The accumulated blood in the pleural cavity had protected the internal organs against thermal destruction and preserved the traumatic findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the best of our knowledge this is the first description of the protective effect of hemothorax against thermal damage of the intrathoracic organs.
authors: Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 708 52, Ostrava, Czech Republic.|Department of Intensive Medicine and Forensic Studies, University of Ostrava, 703 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic.|Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors: Petr
authors: P
authors: Handlos
authors: Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 708 52, Ostrava, Czech Republic.|Department of Intensive Medicine and Forensic Studies, University of Ostrava, 703 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Marek
authors: M
authors: Dokoupil
authors: Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 708 52, Ostrava, Czech Republic.|Department of Intensive Medicine and Forensic Studies, University of Ostrava, 703 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Marie
authors: M
authors: Staňková
authors: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors: Marek
authors: M
authors: Joukal
authors: Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 708 52, Ostrava, Czech Republic.|Department of Intensive Medicine and Forensic Studies, University of Ostrava, 703 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Igor
authors: I
authors: Dvořáček
authors: Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 708 52, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors: Matěj
authors: M
authors: Uvíra
authors: Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 708 52, Ostrava, Czech Republic. margita.smatanova@fno.cz.|Department of Intensive Medicine and Forensic Studies, University of Ostrava, 703 00, Ostrava, Czech Republic. margita.smatanova@fno.cz.
authors: Margita
authors: M
authors: Smatanová
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood; D002056:Burns / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000473:pathology*; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D014951:Wounds, Stab / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Carbonization; Hemothorax; Stab channel; Stab wounds; Traumatic-hemorrhagic shock