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Physical abuse in infancy can cause persistent neurological deficits. Although intracranial foreign bodies are generally secondary to penetrating trauma or surgical procedures, rarely they also occur as a result of child abuse. A 32-year-old man presented with the complaint of generalized tonic clonic seizures to the Neurology Department of Marmara, University Hospital. Computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed a sewing needle located within the temporal lobe. The location and the position of the needle suggested that it must have been introduced in infancy through the lamdoid suture before the closure of it, as an unsuccessful deliberate homicide attempt or accidental injury.

Suicide has been reported as the second or third most common cause of death in children and adolescents worldwide. In this study, cases of under the age of 19 years submitted to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, First Specialization Board between 1996 and 2000 as suicides by the Board were evaluated retrospectively. The cases included in this study were the cases bearing locally questionable components, so had been submitted to the evaluations by the Board in order to eradicate the doubts. A total of 43 cases were investigated regarding age, gender, cause of death, manner of death, place of death, time of death, and the risk factors. Of the 43 cases evaluated, 31 cases were female and 12 cases were male. The notable suicide method was found to be firearms. Although it was clear that that not all of the suicide cases in this age group had been submitted to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, the most striking result of this study, nevertheless, was that girls constituted the 72% of suicidal deaths in this age group., (Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)

The aim of this study is to examine methyl alcohol poisoning cases from the medico-legal point of view. The records of the Morgue Department of Council of the Forensic Medicine were reviewed retrospectively for all methyl alcohol poisonings for the period of 27.10.1992 and 30.05.2001. The victim's age, sex, death year, death place, methyl alcohol blood levels, the source of methyl alcohol, accompanying laboratory results and histopathologic tissue changes were recorded. The number of deaths due to the methyl alcohol poisoning was 271 during that period of time. Two hundred and forty-two of the (89.3%) total 271 methyl alcohol fatalities were men and 29 (10.7%) of were women. The largest age group was 36-40 years old, followed by 41-45. The methyl alcohol blood concentrations ranged widely from 50 to 755 mg for per 100 ml. There were 222 cases (81.9%) with the methyl alcohol blood concentrations over 100 mg/dl. Twenty-nine (10.7%) victims were poisoned through the consumption of cologne and three of them with alcoholic beverage named "Raki". Consumed products were not known in all other cases because of insufficient patient history and data. As a conclusion, regarding the distribution according to years, mortality due to methyl alcohol intoxication in our country have been proceeding on a certain level. In order to decrease the mortality due to methyl alcohol intoxication, some precautions should be developed that could prevent the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages illegally produced.