Citation

Sigrist T, Germann U. Z. Rechtsmed. 1989; 102(8): 549-557.

Vernacular Title

Totung durch Ersticken--ja oder nein? Zur Anwendung der Muskelhistologie.

Affiliation

Gerichtsmedizinisches Institut am Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2508355

Abstract

In two cases of death autopsy revealed large hemorrhages in the muscles of the neck, which lead to the conclusion of a murder by strangulation, e.g. with a soft tool. Histologic examination of the injured muscles didn't show any sign of vital reaction, which means, that they had developed post mortem. There was no reason for further suspicion of a violent crime. Later it became obvious, that neck lesions resulted from inadequate recovery and transport of the corpses. "Vital" type of muscular alteration is characterized by segmental or disk-like fragmentation of muscle fibres, loss of sarcoplasmatic cross-striation and appearance of pathologic longitudinal fibrillar structures. These signs are missing in case of a postmortal injury, whereas the cross striation is intact. The slides should be stained with PTAH. With these two cases we would like to demonstrate the importance of histologic examination of injured muscles, when question for intravital or postmortal injury rises.

Language: de