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This letter discusses a case of complex suicide involving a power drill and self-immolation. The authors describe the injuries sustained by a 61-year-old male, including burns, a drilled hole in the forehead, and drilled wounds on the chest and abdomen. The autopsy revealed that the man likely died from burns and smoke asphyxiation, with the penetrating intracranial wound from the power drill serving as a contributory factor. The authors note that suicides involving power-driven tools are uncommon, and the appearance of drill injuries can vary depending on various factors. The case also highlights the use of multiple methods in complex suicides and the potential for misinterpretation of injuries. [Extracted from the article]

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure-hunt game that uses GPS-enabled devices or smartphone apps to find cleverly hidden treasures marked by GPS coordinates that are shared online. Like any other outdoor activity, geocaching is associated with risks of falls, environmental injuries, asphyxia and natural events. Despite the apparent risk of serious injury and potential death, no relevant reports aiming to identify the characteristics of geocaching-related deaths have appeared in the medical literature to date. We report a case of an experienced geocacher who was found suspended from a bridge pillar with his climbing ropes and helmet straps twisted across his face and neck; he had apparently attempted to rappel from a 30-m-high railway bridge to find a geocache. A recording of the rappelling sequence from the camera found on the chest strap assisted in reconstructing what had actually happened. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging, with the occlusion of the external airways and positional asphyxia serving as contributory factors. The salient features of this unusual case are discussed, and several forensic issues of geocaching are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of spontaneous combustion has huge appeal as an historical fiction but it has no scientific background. However, in some deaths involving fire, a body can burn away virtually completely with minimal thermal destruction to the neighboring environment. We report an extraordinary case of the self-immolation of an elderly woman who set herself on fire with suicidal intentions. The unusual appearance and location of the body closely resembled the phenomenon of so-called spontaneous human combustion because the upper parts of the body were almost totally destroyed by fire, while the legs and surrounding structures remained almost untouched by flames. The results of all investigations proved that the woman set fire to her body using a box of matches and accelerants (concentrated ethanol and a solid firelighter). Near-total combustion of her body subsequently occurred during the postmortem period. The development of alleged spontaneous human combustion requires the following: ignition (external heat source), fuel (molten human fat), a wick (e.g. charred and porous clothing, bedding, or ground), time, and an optimal microclimate for gradual burning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the sudden death of a male patient due to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) pulmonary embolism. Topics discussed include the patient's development of sudden-onset dyspnea, autopsy which revealed a tumor in the right kidney and immunohistochemistry which confirmed renal cell carcinoma. Also mentioned are the classification of pulmonary embolism and sarcomatoid transformation in RCC.

Despite the availability of modern imaging and molecular tools, traditional autopsy, and laboratory findings remain the gold standard for the diagnosis of drowning. This article presents two cases of freshwater drowning in which hemolytic staining of the endocardium of the left heart chambers was observed at autopsy. One case was a suicidal drowning of an 84-year-old man, and the other case was an accidental drowning of an 86-year-old woman. In both cases, there was marked hemolytic staining of the endocardium of the left atrium and ventricle. The endocardium of the right heart chambers was clear and transparent in appearance. Hemolytic intimal staining of the aortic root was observed in one case. Gettler's test was positive in both cases. Hemolytic discoloration of the endocardium of the left heart chambers after freshwater drowning is analogous to hemolytic staining of the aortic root. Both staining patterns result from the hypo-osmolar hemolysis that occurs in the left heart chambers and systemic circulation after hypotonic fluid passes across the alveolocapillary membrane. Hemolytic discoloration of the endocardium of the left heart chambers at autopsy may support a diagnosis of freshwater drowning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 32-year-old woman who collapsed after visiting the toilet. It mentions that she was a long term intravenous drug (IVD) user with history of IVD abuse. It also informs about histological examination of the lesions on the tricuspid valve and the mass from the pulmonary artery which revealed an organizing thrombus with numerous colonies of bacteria.

The article presents a case study of a 46 year old man who was taken for autopsy evaluation after he was found dead in his house compound area. External blood loss by transection of the right femoral artery and vein after an impaling injury led to the death. The death was declared accidental. The article discuses laceration, retroperitoneal space and hemorrhage.

The article presents the case study of a 50-year-old man, who had chronic alcoholism and four-week history of abdominal pain and referred to a hospital for autopsy evaluation after his sudden death. External examination revealed a distended abdomen and further abdominal examination showed necrosis and well-demarcated process in liver tissue. The case informs about the development of substantial complications followed by abdominal trauma.

The article presents case study of a 89-year-old woman who was found dead in the corridor of her apartment. It states that woman had a past medical history including chronic venous insufficiency of the lower limbs and ischemic heart disease. It further talks about lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum (LHIS), also termed as "massive fatty deposits in the interatrial septum," a rare benign tumor-like condition of human body.

The article presents a case study of 88 year old man who died due to bronchopulmonary infection with his autopsy revealing that he had chronic pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease. It informs that cause of the death was found to be transmural intestinal necrosis caused by arterial thrombotic occlusion. It states that giant Lambl's excrescences, lesions that form thromboemboli, caused obstruction of coronary ostium and resulted in death.