The identification of human remains relies on the comparison of post-mortem data, collected during the autopsy, with the ante-mortem data gathered from the missing persons’ reports. DNA, fingerprints, and dental data are considered primary identifier...
Background and Clinical Significance: Abusive head trauma (AHT), formerly known as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in infants and young children. While the forensic aspects of acute AHT are well described, auto...
Background: Persistent metopic suture represents a normal anatomical variant that may persist into adulthood and can be misinterpreted as a frontal skull fracture, particularly in trauma-related forensic cases. Despite its clinical and medico-legal r...
Mycotoxins, specifically aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA), trichothecenes (TCNs), and patulin, are a group of secondary metabolites that can contaminate food, leading to severe health implications for humans. Their detection and analysis withi...
The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 was identified for the first time in China, in December 2019. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported around the world; indeed, this infection has been declared a pandemic. Consequently, the s...
Towards the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified as the culprit for a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Since then, it has rapidly spread worldwide, affecting more than 43 million people, and in March 2020, the World Health Organ...
Background: Free fatal falls (FFF) are a frequent occurrence in forensic medicine. Many variables, such as the victim’s sex, BMI, intoxication, height of the fall, and mental illness, can influence injury patterns. Previous studies identified f...
To date, there is poor evidence on the transmission of infection in individuals handling the bodies of deceased persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 and in particular, during autopsies. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that when appropriate strat...
Background: Hospital autopsies, once considered fundamental to evidence-based medicine, have declined in many Western countries due to legislative changes, faith-based objections, and inadequate funding in public healthcare. However, the COVID-19 pan...
Medical psychotropics are widely used and prescribed in developed countries. These medications may have an impairing effect on mood or perception and may induce harmful behaviors. Nevertheless, in Europe, studies on their importance from a medico-leg...
Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major public health concern worldwide, affecting all age and social groups. Methods: In this retrospective study, of the 8265 autopsies performed in the Institute of Legal Medicine, 1618 cases of SCD were i...
Ketoacidosis is one of the common diseases that sometimes result in death. In forensic autopsy cases, the measuring of ketone bodies, especially β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), is useful in diagnosing postmortem ketoacidosis as a cause of death. Howeve...
Background: A psychological autopsy is a post-mortem investigative tool used to carry out a retrospective reconstruction of a missing subject’s life. The method includes gathering information from all the potentially involved parties, which may...
Background: Vulnerable road users (VRUs), including children and older adults, face a high risk of fatal road traffic accidents (RTAs) due to limited protection and greater injury susceptibility. Romania reports some of the highest child and elderly...
Background/Objectives: Snakebite envenoming remains a critical yet frequently under-recognized cause of mortality in many parts of the world, particularly in tropical and rural areas where access to timely medical care and accurate post-mortem invest...
In light of falling global autopsy rates, one of the causes of which is the resulting body disfigurement, it has become crucial to search for new, minimally invasive post-mortem diagnostic tools. One of these methods is videoautopsy, a minimally inva...
Autopsy is a complex and unrepeatable procedure. It is essential to have the possibility of reviewing the autoptic findings, especially when it is done for medico-legal purposes. Traditional photography is not always adequate to record forensic pract...
Background: Forensic investigation of child homicides presents unique challenges due to the vulnerability of children and the complexity of distinguishing between natural, accidental, and intentional manner of death. A multidisciplinary approach inte...
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major challenge in forensic medicine, representing a leading cause of natural mortality and frequently occurring in individuals without antecedent symptoms. Although conventional autopsy and histology remain the c...
Background: Firearm wounds tend to have a precise pattern. Despite this, real-world case presentations can present uncertain elements, sometimes deviating from what is considered standard, and present uncommon features that are difficult for forensic...
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, frequently resulting in traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), skull fractures, and spinal injuries. This manuscript examines the forensic aspects of head trauma caused...
In the past years the number of hospital autopsies have declined steadily, becoming almost excluded from medical training. Medicolegal (forensic) autopsies account for almost all autopsies, whereas hospital autopsies are becoming increasingly rare. M...
A case of a 26-year-old male who died from consuming synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists MDMB-4en-PINACA and 4F-ABUTINACA is reported. MDMB-4en-PINACA and 4F-ABUTINACA are potent synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs). This is the first...
Our paper aims to present three cases of committed suicide in SARS-CoV-2 infection during the quarantine period. We investigated if there is a role for the infection itself in triggering the suicidal act or if it is augmented by other risk factors su...
Background/Objectives: Overkill is generally defined as violence demonstrably exceeding the force required to cause death, often involving a disproportionate number of inflicted injuries. Typically linked to specific mental states, this phenomenon ca...
Myocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the myocardium, is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), though often underdiagnosed. This study reviews the current literature on the association between my...
Background/Objectives: Hanging is the most common method of suicide in most countries worldwide. It is characterized by high lethality, technical simplicity, and typical autopsy findings. Autopsy plays a crucial role in determining the cause and mech...
Autopsies of exhumed bodies pose a risk of infections with environmental bacteria or fungi, which may be life-threatening. Thus, it is important to use effective methods of disinfection in forensic pathology facilities. In this study, we investigated...
Forensic medicine has increasingly integrated advanced imaging technologies to improve the accuracy and efficiency of investigations. Techniques such as virtual autopsy, multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), and artificial intelligence (AI)-driv...
Pharmacogenetics analyzes the individual behavior of DNA genes after the administration of a drug. Pharmacogenetic research has been implemented in recent years thanks to the improvement in genome sequencing techniques and molecular genetics. In addi...
Anthropological, archaeological, and forensic studies situate enforced disappearance as a strategy associated with the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964–1985), leaving hundreds of persons without identity or cause of death identified. Their...
Background: Free fatal falls (FFF) represent a distinct form of blunt force trauma (BFT) that is frequently encountered in forensic practice. Distinguishing FFF injuries from other forms of BFT, such as motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), can pose challe...
Purpose: Suicide is a leading cause of death among children and adolescents worldwide. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of suicides among children and adolescents (aged ≤ 19 years) over a 13-year period in the broader area of...
A conclusive and early diagnosis of cardiomyopathy is essential for implementing preventive therapeutic measures and, therefore, reducing the risk of malignant arrhythmias and even sudden cardiac death. Occasionally, this lethal event can be the firs...
Because decedents undergoing forensic autopsies would have behaved normally before death, prostate volume according to age group can be confirmed with forensic autopsy materials. The objectives of this study were to first confirm the current prostate...
Objectives: Traumatic injuries are one of the severe health problems of our time. In the 21st Century, approximately 4.5 million people worldwide die each year due to trauma. Computed tomography (CT) is widely used to diagnose injuries and offers inf...
As known in forensics, heat stroke deaths diagnosis is made by exclusion. In fact, in heat-related deaths, the gross and histologic postmortem findings are not pathognomonic, and biochemical investigations are not specific. Therefore, in such cases,...
Sudden unexpected deaths often remain unresolved despite forensic examination, posing challenges for pathologists. Molecular autopsy, through genetic testing, can reveal hidden causes undetectable by standard methods. This review assesses the role of...
Background: Starvation represents a specific pathological entity characterized by severe nutritional deprivation leading to multi-organ failure. Despite its forensic relevance, a comprehensive synthesis of autopsy findings remains lacking. Methods: T...
Sudden death is defined as the unexpected death of a healthy person that occurs within the first hour of the onset of symptoms or within 24 h of the victim being last seen alive. In some of these cases, rare deleterious variants of genes associated w...
Background: Enterobiasis or oxyuriasis from Enterobius vermicularis is an infection usually localized in the large bowel and cecum. Generally, the symptoms are characterized by anal itching, and intestinal or nervous disorders. Rarely, it is responsi...
Healthcare-related homicidal cases are not novel within the medical–legal landscape, but investigations are often made difficult with the scarcity of material evidence related to the crime. For this reason, it is necessary to carefully analyze...
Acute appendicitis is a common cause of acute abdominal pain but is rare in infants because of anatomical and physiological characteristics that reduce the risk of the luminal obstruction of the appendix. However, when it occurs in infants, it is oft...
Background: The present exploratory study aimed to investigate the relationship between arginine vasopressin (AVP) secretion and cerebral edema and evaluate its usefulness as an index for assessing severity of cerebral edema. Methods: Forensic autops...
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules approximately 20–22 nucleotides in length that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. By binding to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), miRNAs inhibit translation or induce d...
Determining the cause of death is one of the main goals of forensic pathology. However, conditions can occur in which common approaches—external inspection, autopsy, histology, etc.—might not be conclusive. With the advancement of molecul...
Background: Methanol poisoning remains a major cause of fatal toxic exposures worldwide, yet the diagnostic value of postmortem methanol and formic acid levels in relation to organ-specific pathology is not fully understood. This study aimed to provi...
We report the case of a 54-year-old man who died in a motorcycle accident due to loss of control of the vehicle on a viaduct. No other vehicles were apparently involved, except for a car hit by the motorcycle after it fell. A post-mortem CT scan (com...
Introduction: Paternal filicide is a rare and complex form of intrafamilial homicide, frequently associated with underlying psychopathology, interpersonal conflict, and psychosocial stressors. While maternal filicide has been more extensively studied...
Background and Objectives: Schizophrenia is associated with a 15–20-year reduction in life expectancy, with cardiovascular disease as the leading cause. Sudden unexpected death is common in this population, often linked to structural heart dise...
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