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Fire, one of the pure elements forming the world and one of the elements to provide life energy to all living beings, sometimes turns deadly. In Forensic Medicine departments, one of the most common cases for post mortem examinations is Burns case. But it becomes difficult many a times to comment on the manner of death in cases with a brief survival period. So, the currentretrospective study was undertaken at Mortuary complex of GMERS Medical college, Dharpur-Patan, Gujarat during the period from 1st Jan 2016 to 31stDec 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An adolescent is defined as an individual aged between 11-19 years. They constitute about 21% of the Indian population. Mortality and morbidity occurring in this age group are mostly due to preventable causes. Mortalities in adolescents are cause of concern because they are the future of nation forming a major demographic and economic force. The purpose of this study is to analysis mortality in adolescents. Methods: The present study is a hospital based, cross sectional and observational study of autopsy reports, police inquest forms, medico-legal case register of medico-legal deaths of adolescent age group victims of ages from 11 to 19 yrs. for a period of three years from January 01, 2020 to December 31, 2022 autopsied at department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology and in patient case records from Medical Record Department. The cases were evaluated according to age, sex, the cause and manner of death and findings of toxicological analysis. Data was classified and statistically analyzed. Conclusion: The majority of adolescent deaths were found to be related to external causes, in particular unintentional injuries. The accidental deaths accounts for 75.75% followed suicidal deaths (21.21%). Use of appropriate safety measures and strict law enforcement may significantly reduce accidental deaths in adolescents. Suicides may be prevented by identification of risk factors significant family support and counselling by child psychologist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Any medical college hospital's emergency room should constantly be prepared to treat a wide range of cases that are brought in. Knowing the patterns of cases that are presented before it is crucial for this reason, as is making the necessary arrangements to handle them. Materials and methods: The present study is retrospective study to know the trends of medico legal cases brought to SSG Hospital, Vadodara from July 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2016. Cases include those brought to the hospital's casualty department. Results: A total number of 5408 cases were reported between July 1st, 2016 to December 31st, 2016. Among the 5408 cases reported, 79.99% were male and 26.01% were female making a male to female ratio 3:1. It was observed that urban victims constituted 51.09% and the rural victims were 48.91%. Similar 27.59% were in the age group 21-30 years followed by 21.95% in the 31-40 age group. The maximum number of cases were of RTA's (38.31%) followed by assault (20.25%) and poisoning (9.28%). Conclusion: The current study offers data on the trend of medico legal cases brought to SSG Hospital, Vadodara, including details on the cases' age, sex, and etiological factors. Data is examined statistically and shown in tabular form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, incidence of burn injuries is quite high due to widespread illiteracy, old customs like dowry and use of kerosene for lighting and cooking; poverty, overcrowding and unemployment, other social & emotional factors, lack of safety measures at industrial setup & lack of adequate healthcare services. Although, mortality in cases of burns has been reduced considerably by modern advance healthcare services, yet death due to burns is not an uncommon event. The study was carried out with the aim to study the various demographic parameters related to deaths due to burns such as age, sex, occupation, socio-economic status, marital status, locality and source of fire. It was a 1.6 years prospective study of cases of burns autopsied at the mortuary of Gandhi medical college, Bhopal. The relevant information was obtained from inquest papers, history provided by relatives of the deceased and postmortem examination. On data analysis, it was found that incidence of burns was found to be higher higher in females (55.0%) as compared to males (45.0%). young adults between the age group of 21-30 years have been the major victims of burns (41.00%). In both sexes, majority of the burn cases were married (74%). Most of the burn cases belonged to middle class, were housewives (51 %). and from rural areas (75 %). Hence, steps need be taken by Govt., NGOs and medical professionals to reduce the mortality due to burns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: an unknown dead body always becomes a challenge to the Investigating officer and forensic expert. However, the problem of determining the identity gets aggravated and taxes for the experts, when the dead body is recovered in decomposed/ skeletonized and mutilated form. Materials and Methods: A standard proforma was designed to collect the information to ensure consistency for the whole sample. All dead bodies that were brought as unidentified were included however identified dead bodies were excluded from the study. Results: A total of 407 post-mortem examinations were conducted at the mortuary of the department during under study and amongst them, 56 cases (13.75%) were found unidentified. Of these unidentified cases, 69.64% (39 cases) were in decomposed and 30.35% (17 cases) were in fresh state. Unidentified cases comprised 80.35% males (45 cases) and 19.64% females (11 cases). Conclusion: Unidentified dead bodies were only 13.75% of the total dead bodies coming to the autopsy in the mortuary of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, VCSGGIMS & R, Srikot, Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, UTTARAKHAND during the study period of 5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire, one of the pure elements forming the world and one of the elements to provide life energy to all living beings, sometimes turns deadly. In Forensic Medicine departments, one of the most common cases for post mortem examinations is Burns case. But it becomes difficult many a times to comment on the manner of death in cases with a brief survival period. So, the current study was undertaken at Mortuary complex of Medical college, Vadodara, Gujarat during one year period from Jan 2012 to Dec 2012. There are some perplexing results like Number of Male victims outnumber the females; about 83% cases were from rural residence, which were different compared to earlier studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poisoning is a major public health problem worldwide with thousands of death occurring every year and most of the cases are being reported from developing countries. The present study includes all the cases of poisoning or suspected poisoning subjected for autopsy at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Basaveshwara medical college and hospital, chitradurga, Karnataka during the period 1st january 2022 to june 2023 in which it was seen that poisoning accounted for 19.9% of autopsies. 24 Males (66.6%) and 12 females (12%) in the age group 21-30 years were commonly affected. Many victims were married males. Majority of cases were suicidal in manner (94.4%) and were from middle class social status (41.1%). The commonest poisoning was organophosphorus compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The profiling of medico-legal cases is imperative in order to avert preventable casualties in the future and to analyze the authentic crime rate within a specific region. Presently, road traffic accidents are the primary cause of casualties, resulting in numerous fatalities. Objective: The objective is to establish a comprehensive profile of deaths caused by either natural or unnatural factors, thereby enabling us to channel rigorous efforts towards mitigating their occurrence. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the mortality cases subjected to medico-legal postmortem examination at the Mortuary, Government Medical College, Kanpur, U.P., India, during the year 2022. Throughout this duration, a total of 2326 autopsy cases were conducted. Results: October had the highest number of autopsy cases. Males accounted for 63.23% of cases, with most falling in the 21-30 age group. Injury-related deaths were the largest proportion (47.36%), followed by natural deaths (19.93%), violent asphyxial deaths (10.48%), thermal injuries (9.89%), and poisoning (9.04%). Conclusion: The analysis reveals that road traffic accidents are the most common cause of death, potentially due to the increased frequency of transportation. Specifically, vehicular accidents resulting in head injuries were the leading cause of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of teaching Forensic Medicine in our nation to develop doctors who are knowledgeable and well aware about medico-legal Responsibilities in the practice of medicine. Forensic medicine and toxicology are required to be taught to MBBS undergraduate during their second professional year, which lasts 18 months in India. The study was done among a total of 352 MBBS undergraduates of VCSGGIMS & R Srinagar Pauri Garhwal Uttarakhand after dividing them in to three groups. The Students were asked to express their responses on a scale with grading from 1 to 5 on a questionnaire for survey. 84.9% students strongly or somewhat had agreed that the subject has utility after MBBS course for delivering health services especially in Government Health centre and While 5.1% strongly or somewhat had disagreed with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Medico-legal audits are an integral part of hospital/clinical audits and involve examination of the hospital records. The clinical audits aim towards improvement of quality of care and hence are limited to the scrutiny of patient's clinical records. On the other hand, a medico-legal audit aims at the prevention of foreseeable litigations on the hospital and includes the perusal of all the hospital records. Aim: To perform a Medicolegal records audit at a tertiary care hospital Results: Road traffic accidents are the major Medicolegal cases(65%) arriving to the emergency department. Males are more involved in the Medicolegal incidents than females. Conclusion: The medico-legal auditing helps in the necessary changes to be put forth for the better functioning of the hospital [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adolescence is commonly regarded as a healthy time of life, with apeak in strength, speed, fitness, and many cognitive abilities. However, major shifts in health take placearound puberty as new health risks with potentially life threatening consequences become prominent. Unnatural deaths are the leading killer of today's teenage and adolescent generation, as the patterns have changed from infections to social aetiologies during the lastdecades. The unnatural deaths may be due to unintentional or intentional injuries.Unintentional injuries are mainly accidents. Intentional injuries are mainly suicidesand homicide. Aims and Objectives: To know the type, incidence, and sex wise distribution of unintentional deaths of adolescents in the age group of 10 -- 19 years. Material Methods: Department of Forensic Medicine, BMC & RI (Victoria & Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospitals) is a postgraduate institute that conducts autopsies of all sudden, suspicious, unnatural deaths which occur in and around Bengaluru. The present study is a descriptive study of unintentional unnatural death cases of Adolescents (10 to 19 years) which were autopsied at BMC & RI, Bengaluru for a period of 18 months from Dec. 2014 to May 2016. Results: Out of 148 cases of unintentional injury, 109 cases were males (73.64%) and 39 cases were females (26.36%). Among unintentional deaths majority were due to RTA 58 cases (39.19%), Accidental Scalds/Burninjuries 30 cases (20.27%), Accidental drowning 18 cases (12.16%), Electrocution 14 cases (9.45%), Accidental railway injury sustained 15 cases (10.13%), Accidental fall 11 cases (7.43%), Snakebite 1 case (0.67%), Blast explosion 1 case (0.67%). Conclusion: Adolescent age is an important stage in development. Death in adolescentage is a potential life loss to family and society to some extent and reflects socioeconomic and Medical Health Carestatus at the National and Regional levels. Accurate legal investigations is essential increating awareness among National policymakers and educators/caregivers, to prevent adolescent deaths. To conclude useful and informative determinants of adolescent death were identified in this study. Since there is very little information regarding adolescent death in developing countries like ours. This suggests that each and every center conducting autopsies should come up with such studies to reflect the magnitude of the occurrence of unnatural adolescent deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a prospective study of fatal two wheelers accident cases brought at Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital & Post Graduate Institute, Puducherry. Amongst 118 cases, 79.66% were male whereas 20.33% were female. Highest numbers of victims were in the age group of 36-55 years, accounting for 45 (38.13%). There was a higher rate of head and neck injuries in the present study followed by head, neck & lower limb and head, neck & upper limb. Numbers of people who succumb to two wheeler accidents are on an increasing trend in India. Fatality rates among the people involved in RTA shows an alarming increase. It was observed that violating the traffic rules is found to be the major contributory factor and men and teenagers are the most common people involved in these accidents. Measures to prevent these accidents and decrease the mortality rates in these situations includes strict adherence to traffic rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire is one of the important element of life, it is both useful (in cooking, producing warmth in winter, in cremation etc.) as well as harmful (by producing thermal burn injuries, blast injuries, forest fire, crop burning, volcanic eruption etc.) to the mankind. Burn injury is now becoming the major cause of death among unnatural deaths in various regions of the country and world. Majority of the burn cases occurat home due to smoking, defective electrical wiring, defective kerosene stove bursts, attempted suicides by self-immolation, homicidal burns of young women by husband or in-laws (dowry deaths). The present study was based on retrospective analysis of post mortem cases of thermal burns during the period from January 2018 to December 2018 in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar (M.P). During this period total 349 autopsies were conducted, out of which majorities of death, 116 cases were due to burn. Majority of the victims were married hindu females belonging to age group of 21-30 years. Of these cases carbon soot particles in trachea were present in 7% of cases and kerosene smell was present in 21% cases. Most of deaths were accidental account for 78.44% cases. Police inquest was conducted in 76% of the cases and rest of the cases were magistrate inquest. In 52(44.82%) cases, 60-80% of Total Body Surface Area (TSBA) was burnt of all body parts upper extremities were commonly involved in about 96.55% cases. Accidental burn injuries are preventable and can be reduced by bringing about regulations to develop safer cooking appliances, promoting less inflammable fabrics to be worn at home and educating the community especially women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hanging is that form of asphyxia which is caused by the suspension of the body by a ligature which encircles the neck, the constricting force being the weight of the body, or part of body weight. Strangulation is a form of death caused by constricting the neck by some means other than body weight. The means used may be ligature (ligature strangulation), human hand (throttling or manual strangulation), elbow (mugging), or some hard subject such as stick (bansdola). Aims and Objectives: To study the differentiating aspect between Hanging and Strangulation, with respect to type of ligature material and its position, external and internal finding of neck and changes in the subcutaneous tissue of neck. Results: Hanging amounted for 50.37% cases while strangulation was 17.20% cases among the violent asphyxial deaths. Clothes (65.45%) were most common ligature material both in hanging and strangulation as well. Position of ligature was above the level of thyroid in 95.12% cases while in strangulation the position of ligature was at level of thyroid in most of the cases (45.71%). Associated injuries are present in 51.43% cases of strangulation. Subcutaneous tissue is white glistening in most of hanging cases (76.58%) while contused in most of strangulation (82.86%) cases. Conclusion and Suggestions: It is suggested that in the interest of justice to avoid confusion, in all cases of violent asphyxial deaths, the post-mortem examination should be conducted by the Forensic experts only. Police personals should also be given training that they should not cut the ligature material and remove ligature material before post-mortem examination so that easy differentiation of hanging and strangulation can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Number of person suffering from some kind of illness is increasing day by day. In addition to the individuals suffering from various disease, person with medico-legal injuries or complaints are also admitted in the hospital. A hospital is a place where a patient gets required treatment, undergoes various investigations, procedures and medico-legal formalities when required. In a tertiary care hospital, Emergency Medical Officer is the first doctor to attend the patient. In any case first and foremost duty of a doctor is to save the life of patient. After providing the first aid and following the treatment protocol another duty is to do all medico-legal formalities like issuing Medico-legal reports and sending police information etc in a police case. A medico-legal case is a case where a patient has some assault injuries or having some complaint where a doctor thinks that some kind of information to police is required in the case. Aims and Objectives: To prepare and evaluate complete demographic profile of medico-legal cases admitted at our tertiary care hospital. Materials and Method: A one and half year retrospective study was conducted in department of Forensic Medicine at G.G.S. Medical College, Faridkot. This study was conducted on cases that came during the period under study i.e. from 1st January 2017 to 30th June 2018. Results: A total of 1850 medico-legal cases got registered in the emergency during the period under study. Out of these, medico-legal reports were prepared in 1510 cases. Majority of cases in which MLR was issued were of assault followed by road traffic accident. Males dominated the females and commonest age group affected was 21-30 years in our study. Majority of victims got admitted in Surgery department followed by Orthopedics and Neurosurgery department. Most victims came during period from 8PM to 8AM. Maximum number of cases reported in months of summers than winters. Most of the victims were of rural background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute Poisoning forms one of the commonest causes of emergency hospital admissions. Poisoning both accidental and intentional are a significant contributor to mortality and morbidity throughout the world. A complete review of the risk factors decreases incidence and significant morbidity and mortality rates. The present study aims to characterize contemporary trends in the pattern of poisonings in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Materials and Method: The study was conducted in tertiary care hospital [Saveetha Medical College and Hospital] for a period of one year [from January 2018 to December 2018]. The data was obtained retrospectively from medical case sheets and various parameters such as sex ratio, occupation, poison type, etc., were analyzed and compared with other studies. Results: The study population consists of 294 cases, among which 232 were suicidal and 62 were accidental. Female predominancy was reported in the present study, with the prevalence of poisonings more common among the age group 21-30y years. Household poisons like insecticides and rodenticides were the most commonly administered. Most of the patients admitted were skilled workers and homemakers. Conclusion: Poisoning was more common in young adults, particularly females. Insecticides and rodenticides were major causes of poisoning, with the higher incidence among skilled workers. Highly equipped treatment facilities and establishment of poisoning centers have become the need of the hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burn injuries are a public health problem in developing countries like India specially in females. Our objective of the present study is to know the pattern of deaths due to burns, socio etiological factors involved and to suggest preventive measures. A study based on autopsies conducted in R.N.T. Medical College, Udaipur (from 1st March 2018 to 30th September 2018) where total 780 Medico-legal autopsies were conducted during this period, out of those 86 were due to burn. 45 victims were male and 41 were female. Maximum 46 of the cases were in the 21-40 years of the age group in both genders. Most of the cases were found to be from rural area (80.23%). The most common manner of burn was accidental (74.41%) followed by suicidal burns (22.09%). Majority of victims died as a result of flame burn (74.41%) and death due to flame, major cases were females (62.5%). Majority of victims (41.86%) died with more than 80% burns and (52.32%) victims could not survive for more than 24 hours. The cause of death in (52.32%) cases was shock followed by septicemia in (32.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatal road traffic accident cases with skull fractures were studied for three years from July 2015 to June 2018 from the medicolegal autopsy cases coming to the Mortuary of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal. The patterns of skull fractures in various types of victims involved in accidents with different types of vehicles were analyzed in detail. It was observed that skull fractures were encountered most commonly in pedestrian victims.Of the various types of skull fractures, comminuted fracture was observed in maximum number of cases (31.5%). Preventive and interventional measures in the form of wearing helmets by two wheeler riders,strict implementation of traffic rules and prompt emergency services especially neurosurgery facilities which can help in reducing the incidence of road traffic accident fatalities are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Torture and violence are known since ancient times. The torture essentially is the cruelty committed by the persons in power over the helpless and the weak. Custodial torture means torture in police custody, jails or in custody of other governmental authorities. It is gross negation of the human rights and is violative of the article 21 of the constitution of India. To find out the various methods of torture employed in custody, present prospective study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar. Over a study period of two years, a total of 21 (16 male and 5 female) patients of alleged custodial torture, who were admitted in the emergency of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Hospital associated with Govt. Medical College, Amritsar were studied in detail. The maximum no of cases, 15 (71.4%) were from jail custody, 5 (23.8%) were in police custody and 1 (4.8%) patient was a victim of domestic violence who was detained in her own house. The maximum no of patients of custodial torture (33.3%) were in the age group of 21-30 years. 9.5% of the custodial patients suffered physical torture, 57.1% of the patients suffered mental torture and 33.3% of the patients were victims of both physical and mental torture. This study outlines the various methods of torture employed in custody with the aim of creating awareness in the society about the menace of torture and to help in the prevention of torture by the authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the common regional injuries an individual can sustain in Road Traffic Accidents is head injury. Head and face is the region which is more susceptible and requires an immediate care and treatment. The fatality rate is high even with intense treatment. Law making agencies has been continuously trying to enforce the rules of wearing helmets both in riders and pillion in two wheelers. Considering the same, this study was done in eastern part of Bangalore, an IT hub and a rapidly developing area with increase in vehicular movements. The study concluded that incidence was common among age group of 21-30 years with male predominance and among two wheel riders. Laceration is most common external injury followed by abrasion. Fissure fractures are most common type of Fracture, and sub dural haemorrhage is seen in majority of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every burn injury recorded in vital Statistics represents a catastrophic injury: catastrophic in the overwhelming insult to the patients, catastrophic in its psychological aspects and catastrophic in cost and suffering to the family involved. A severe burn is the most devastating injury a person can sustain and yet hope to survive. It is a common catastrophe today as burn injury cases are one of the common emergencies admitted in any hospital. As the etiological factors of the burn injuries vary considerably in different communities, careful analysis of the epidemiological features in every community is needed before a sound prevention programme can be planned and implemented. The present study was carried out in the department of Forensic medicine and Toxicology of PGIMS and General Hospital Rohtak, Haryana and total 448 cases were collected for this study purpose. Female victims were most commonly affected as compared to male victims. The majority of deaths 232 (51.8%) occurred in the age group of 20-39 years followed by 119 (26.5%) in the age group of 40-59 years. Married females were most common victim compared to unmarried female victim. The majority of burn deaths were accidental (85.3%) in nature followed by suicidal (8.1%) and homicidal deaths (6.6%) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal (heat) burns occur when some or all of the cells in the skin or other tissues are destroyed by: hot liquids (scalds) hot solids (contact burns) or flames (flame burns). In India, over 1,00,0000 people are moderately or severely burnt every year. The incidence and circumstances of death due to thermal injuries differ significantly amid the three genders including the third sex of transgender. Present study analyses profiles of different thermal injury deaths during the entire one year period of 2016 at North Maharashtra's only Govt. Medical college. Data obtained from medico-legal autopsy reports, inquests, panchanamas, hospital treatment records of the dead, etc. Out of the 136 thermal injury death victims observed in the year, female predominance clearly noted with 98 (72.05%) deaths, followed by 37 (27.20%) male and one (00.73%) transgender deaths. We observed most numbers of dead across various parameters, such as 109 (81.36%) victims been married, 83 (61.03%) cases had septicemia as cause of death, 86 (63.23%) deaths were accidental in manner, 116 (85.29%) cases sustained flame type of thermal injury among whom 76 (55.88%) incidences involved kerosene as an inflammable material, 69 (50.73%) victims survived for 3--7 days after sustaining thermal injuries; and in 73 (53.67%) cases, including the transgender, dying declarations were recorded. Deaths of the recently recognized third gender, transgender, is still under reported and scarcely studied till the date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In medical practice, most of the doctors would come across medico-legal cases (MLc). A cross sectional study was conducted over a period of 6 months on doctors posted in different health centres and hospitals of the Imphal West district of Manipur to assess the level of awareness of management of medicolegal cases. Materials & Methods: The data were collected from consenting participant doctors posted at different health centres of the Imphal West district by interviewers using pretested questionnaires. They were asked certain questions related to the management of medicolegal cases. The awareness status was grouped under three categories like 'aware' (score >10 points), 'partly aware' (score >5 to 10 points), 'unaware' (score 0 to 5 points). The answers were recorded and statistically analysed. Results: A total of 126 participants took part in this study and on overall assessment of awareness, it was observed that 74.6% of them were partly aware and 7.94% were unaware of the handling of medicolegal cases. Amongst the participants, 19.84% did not know what constitutes a medicolegal case. It was also observed that 61.11% of the participants did not know whether death certificate should be issued or not in these cases. Only 30.95% of the doctors were aware of the samples required to be collected in sexual assault cases, and 54.76% were partly aware of it. Most of the participants (83.33%) were unaware of the maintenance of chain of custody of evidence. Conclusion: Awareness level and problems faced by doctors in handling medicolegal cases can be established up to some extent from this study. There is a need to educate the doctors to improve the handling of such medicolegal cases, which will be of benefit to all the doctors as well as to the society in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'suicide is characterized as the final common pathway of diverse circumstances, of an interdependent network rather than an isolated cause, a web of circumstances tightening around a single time and space. A prospective study was carried out in the Department of Forensic Medicine Government medical college and hospital, Nagpur from Jan 2013 to Nov 2014. Maximum number of suicide found in males which two times outnumbered the female. Domestic quarrel main cause of suicide followed by psychiatric illness. All the methods of suicide common in young adult (20-40) years of which hanging is most common. Psychiatric illness, 12.67% had consume the alcohol at the time of suicide. home was preferred place of suicide. 7% cases had left the suicide note. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the year of 2012 Jabalpur has reported highest rate suicides of 45.1 among 53 mega cities across India. This study focuses on external findings in cases of deaths due to hanging so as to get a comprehensive profile of findings. Material and Methods: The details about the victims with regard to the age, sex, and type of ligature material, details of ligature mark were obtained prospectively during postmortem examination. Results: single turn was observed in 94 (83.92%) cases. Out of 112 cases of hanging the mark was incompletely encircling the neck in 102 (91.07%), was obliquely placed in 104 (92.85%) cases, and placed above thyroid cartilage in 106 (94.64%) cases. Breadth of the ligature mark in maximum number of cases i.e. 56 (50%) cases, was between 1.1 to 2 cm. commonly, the soft ligature materials were used by the victims. Discussion: In this study, in most of the cases, the mark was incompletely encircling the neck (91.07%). similar finding was observed in the study done by sarangi6 (97.87%). collectively, soft ligature material was used most commonly [46 (41.07%) cases]. similar findings were observed in study done by Naik and Patil8 (soft material, 53.97%). salivary stains over angle of mouth and anterior aspect of chest over cloths were observed in 33.92% cases. Our findings similar to those of study done by shaikh et al11 (38.37%). Conclusion: Mostly the mark of hanging is oblique, incomplete and above thyroid cartilage. soft cloth is more commonly used as ligature material by the victims of suicide. External injuries other than ligature mark are found in some cases and are not common. Salivary stains over angle of mouth and anterior part of chest petechial hemorrhages and cyanosis are not present in all cases, so these are not universal findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hanging is one of the common methods of suicide practices in India. Almost all death caused by hanging is considered suicide till contrary is proved. Ligature mark is important findings whose careful examination may reveal so many facts which will be helpful in investigation. A thorough internal examination must be correlated with ligature mark otherwise chance of wrong interpretation increases. Aims & objectives: To know the different patterns of ligature mark in cases of hanging and also to differentiate cases of ante mortem hanging and post mortem hanging by examination of ligature mark. Materials and methods: Study was conducted in the department of Forensic Medicine and department of Pathology at RIMS Ranchi. Total 83 cases of asphyxial deaths due to hanging were taken for the study. Complete external, internal and histopathological examination was done in all case. Results: Most of the case falls in third decade of life. Males are more common victims. Most common type of hanging observed was complete hanging. In histopathological examination breaking, wrinkling, and compression of skin along with hemorrhagic spots and inflammatory changes were observed under the ligature mark. Conclusion: In cases of hanging deaths, a complete external, internal as well as histopathological examination should be carried out. Before making any final opinion all these findings must be correlated, this will definitely help in differentiating ante mortem hanging from post mortem [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major proportion of unnatural deaths resulting from asphyxia is due to fatal neck compression. Pressure on the neck may arise from hanging, manual strangulation, ligature strangulation and other means of strangulation such as direct blows, arm locks.1 A prospective observational study of post mortem conducted between 1st October 2012 to 31th March 2014 at mortuary of Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College & Hospital, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. During this period total number of 3200 autopsies were conducted. Out of them, 198 (6.18%) cases were of asphyxial death and 110 cases (3.43%) of solely due to compression of neck. 1Of these 110 cases a total 103 cases were of hanging, 6 cases of ligature strangulation and 01 cases of accidental strangulation. Maximum cases i.e. 46 (41.81 %) were observed in age group 21 to 30 years. Male preponderance was observed in all age groups. Married males were 60 (54.54%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Suicide is characterized as the final common pathway of diverse circumstances, of an interdependent network rather than an isolated cause, a web of circumstances tightening around a single time and space1. The maximum number of suicide in young adult (20-40years) Maximum number of cases was in young adult (20-40 years).. Males nearly two times outnumbered the females.Majority were Hindus.Maximum number of suicide occurred in summer. Maximum suicidal death cases occurred in morning (6am to11:59 am). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hanging is ligature compression of neck by weight of one's own body due to suspension. The current study was done with the aim of studying the external and internal postmortem findings in cases of deaths due to hanging in Kanpur region of U.P. and to correlate it with the established findings by previous authors. Material and Method: A prospective study was conducted in the department of forensic medicine in GSVM Medical college Kanpur from jan 2013 to jan 2014. During that period out of 3667 cases subjected to medicolegal autopsy, 348 cases of hanging were selected for the present study. observation: We found that 96.55% cases presented with complete hanging and atypical hanging was found in 95.11% cases. The mark was obliquely placed in 100% cases and was above the thyroid cartilage in 92.24% cases. Dupatta (27.29%) was the most common ligature material used. Dribbling of saliva considered as hallmark of antemortem hanging was present in 77.29% cases and 85.6% cases had glove and stocking type of postmortem lividity. The fracture of thyroid cartilage was noted in 2.5% cases. Conclusion: Under all circumstances it is crucial for the forensic expert to be able to consider and detect all autopsy findings as described here in order to reach reasonable medical conclusions on the cause and manner of death in each individual investigation of hanging death. Our study also highlights the importance as well as need for use of histopathological examinations which can show vital reaction changes and hence are useful for labelling Ante-mortem hanging in doubtful cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of total 737 medico legal autopsies conducted between May 2010 and August 2012, 45 cases were of hanging deaths, which constituted about 6.10 % of medico legal autopsies conducted. The age groups of 21-30 years of age and 31- 40 years of age group recorded the maximum number of cases with 14 (31.11%) and 13(28.88%) cases respectively, with 8 female and 6 male in 21-30 years age group and 6 female and 7 male in the age group of 31-40 years. Atypical hanging 39 (86.68%) predominates typical hanging 6 (13.32%) and majority of the victims 28 (62.22%) had no injury in the neck, except pressure abrasions and ligature ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present prospective study was done at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. In this study the incidences of the bony and cartilaginous injuries in 100 cases of deaths due to hanging were analysed with the gender, age, socio economic status, place of hanging, the type of suspension, the location of the knot, type of the knot, the type of hanging. 76(76%) of cases were males and the majority of the cases were from 21-30 age group, 94(94%) of the victims belonged to the low socioeconomic status, 97(97%) of the cases hanged themselves indoor, 2(2%) had committed suicide by hanging at their workplace, 81(81%) cases had complete type of hanging and 64(64%) had atypical type of hanging. In our study there were 42 (42%) cases had some injuries in their bony and cartilaginous neck structures. Hyoid bone fractures were found in 6(6%) cases, thyroid cartilage injury was seen in 39(39%) cases among which 3 cases had both hyoid and thyroid cartilage fracture in combination. All the above injuries occurred only in cases with complete type of hanging. The incidence of such injuries was more frequent in males who had typical and complete type of hanging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study was to characterize the cases of unnatural deaths admitted to the Basaveshwara Teaching & General Hospital (BTGH), M. R. Medical College, Kalaburagi. This is prospective study conducted at mortuary of Basaveshwara Teaching and General Hospital, Kalaburagi, Karnataka between November 2013 to August 2015, which included 151 cases of unnatural deaths. Burns (49.01%) constituted the maximum number of cases, followed by RTA (31.79%), poisoning (16.56%), fall from height (1.32%) and bites and stings (1.32%). Out of 151 cases of unnatural deaths, 81 (53.64%) cases were males and 70 (46.36%) cases were females. The largest number of victims was in the age group 21-30 years (29.80%). Maximum numbers of the victims (76.82%) were married. Majority of the victims (31.12%) were house wife, followed by (23.52%) were employed in service. Most of the victims (80.13%) were having low level education. Majority of cases (67.55%) were from rural area. Maximum numbers of victims were Hindu (89.40%). Most of the cases (42.38%) were belongs to class V socioeconomic status followed by (26.49%) were belongs to class IV. Maximum number of cases (36.42%) were reported in summer season followed by (34.44%) in winter seasons. Majority of incidents were occurred in the afternoon hours (35.10%).Maximum numbers of victims (33.77%) were survived for less than 24 hours, followed by (29.14%) victims for 3 days to 1 week. Most of the cases (80.79%) were accidental in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hanging is one of the common methods of committing suicide and it is considered suicidal unless contrary is proved. It is one of the 10-leading causes of death in the world, accounting for more than a million deaths annually1. Over the past 30 years the incidence of suicide by hanging has increased,especially among young adults2. This prospective study was conducted in all cases of death due to hanging(86 cases).This study was conducted at Khaja Banda Nawaz institute of medical science Gulbarga(North-Karnataka) from January 2014 to June 2015. Among 86 cases autopsied, males 54(62.79%) predominated females 32(37.20%) in the age group 21-30 years was the most vulnerable for commiting suicide by hanging. Nearly half of the hanging victims 46(53.48%) used nylon rope for hanging 9(10.46%) rest of the victims 9(10.46%) used dupatta, 7(8.13%)used bedsheet and belt was used as ligature by 2(2.32%) of the victims.It was observed that in more than half of the cases 57(66.27%) hanging was partial(i.e. some body parts were touching the ground).29(33.72%) cases were complete hanging(i.e.body was not touching the ground).quarrel among husband and wife was the commonest 36(41.86%) cause of suicidal hanging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intentional violent asphyxial deaths are one of the important causes of death. Nowadays hanging is one of the preferred modes of committing suicide, as it supposedly produces less pain and sure instantaneous death as compared to other modes of suicide. As per data available with WHO and National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB) Government of India that there are few studies conducted in India. Such study has not been conducted in this part of India i.e. Ranchi, Jharkhand. Objective: The aim of this study is to find out the demographic profile and attributing factors for suicide hanging in the state of Jharkhand of India. Materials & Method: This prospective study was carried out on 351 cases of death due to hanging in the department of forensic medicine & toxicology of Rajendra Institute of Medical sciences, Ranchi during April 2013 to October 2014. Information regarding the socio-demographic, mode of suicides, time of incidence, place of incidence, occupation, etc. were gathered from the police papers like inquest report, dead body Challan and through detailed interviews with the relatives, neighbours, friends, and police officials accompanying the dead bodies. Results: Amongst total cases of suicidal hanging, males were predominant to female. The majority (61.0%) of victims who had committed suicides were youths in the age-group 15-29 years. Maximum victims (57%) were married. The majority of the victims were from middle economic class (53 %) and maximum incidences were occurred during summer (43%). The majority (69%) were chosen parental home for hanging. The maximum suicidal incident occurred at evening (between 4 PM to 8 PM), which accounts 33%. The lowest occurrence of suicidal hanging was reported at afternoon (between 12 Pm -4 pm) 6%. Conclusion: In this area of the country the majority (61.0%) of victims who had committed suicides were youths in the age-group 15-29 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fractures of hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are one of important findings in deaths due to hanging. Aim of the study: The present study was carried out to know the incidence of fractures of hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage in hanging. Materials and method: A cross sectional study of a total of 101 cases of hanging was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine, S.S.G. Hospital mortuary, attached to Government Medical College, Baroda over a period of 12 months from October 2013 to September 2014. Results In our study, common age group affected were between 21-30 years (33.75%) followed by 3140 yrs (28.75%). Hyoid bone was fractured in 3 cases (2.97%) and thyroid cartilage was fractured in 8 cases (7.92%). Conclusion: - All the cases of fracture of hyoid bone (2.97%) in deaths due to hanging were male. Thyroid cartilage fracture was more common compared to Hyoid bone fractures in case of hanging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poisoning is becoming an important health problem. Due to increased use of chemicals in industries, agriculture and domestic practices, the incidence of poisoning is increasing. Most of the deaths related to poisoning occur in developing countries. Objective: To investigate the pattern of acute poisoning cases reported to Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Method: The present retrospective study was conducted in department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Data of poisoning cases admitted during three years (January 2013- December 2015) were analyzed. A pre-structured proforma was used to gather the data from MRD of GMCH, Udaipur about demographic details like age, gender, education, occupation, residence of patient, diagnosis, treatment and outcome. Diagnosis of poisoning cases was based on history and physical examination of the patient. Data were entered in MS-excel and analyzed using Epi info version 7.1.5 software. Results: 183 cases of poisoning were analyzed. Men and women were almost equal in number (51.4% male, 48.6% female). Most common age group was 20-29 years. Majority of the patients belonged to rural area (60.1%). Total 88.5% cases were suicidal poisoning cases and 11.5% were accidental case. Almost equal number of suicidal as well as accidental cases belonged to urban and rural areas. Most common poison used was Aluminium phosphide (34.4%) followed by Organophosphorus (22.4%). Conclusion: In the southern Rajasthan, the most common nature for poisoning was suicide by intentional with Aluminiun Phosphide. Awareness should be created for identification, prevention and control of poisoning based on common poisons available in an area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two year retrospective study was conducted by evaluating a total of 32 deaths due to mechanical asphyxia from 01-01-2013 to 31-12-2014, autopsied at MGM Hospital, Warangal. Analysis of the recorded data related to autopsy examination along with age, sex of the deceased, season and manner of death was done. Asphyxial deaths were 10.50% of total autopsies and number of males (67.96%) was more than females in a ratio of 3: 1. In our study commonest method of asphyxial death was hanging (80.60%), followed by drowning (8.3%), ligature strangulation (5.5%) and each case of Traumatic asphyxia (2.8%) and Postural asphyxia (2.8%). 21-30 years age group were more prone to violent asphyxial deaths (38.88%) and more cases were noticed in summer season (50.0%) constituting majority of suicidal cases (83.30%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present era of development and modernization fire safety is still a concern and it has been same since ages in India. Many people succumb to age old friend and foe of humans that is fire. Many studies have been done in this field but studies just focusing on females have been left untouched in many areas. So this study was taken at Department of Forensic Medicine Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur over a period of one year from November, 2013 to October. 2014. A total of 3306 medico-legal autopsies were conducted during the study period, out of them 514 cases were fatalities due to flame burns, out of them 288 were females. Such high ratio of deaths of females motivated us for this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Head injury is an important cause of mortality worldwide, as the head is the most vulnerable part of the body which is involved in fatal road traffic accidents. Road traffic accident is the leading cause of serious injuries with associated head trauma especially in youth and middle age persons. Head injury is the most common cause of mortality and major health problem all over the world The Incidence of RTAs was higher in males and in 3rd to 4th decade of life owing to increase risk exposure to males due to more outdoor activities Objective: To study the pattern of fatal head injury in the victims of road traffic accidents. Results: 950 people died in road traffic accidents due to head injuries in the study period. Skull fracture were present in 49.58% of the cases. Fractures of the vault were found in 56% and those of the base of the skull were found in 14.2% of the cases. Fissured fractures were found (89%)in a maximum number of cases, followed by depressed(8.3%)and communited (2.7%)fractures. Among intracranial haemorrhages, subarachnoid haemorrhage was found in90.8%,extradural in 3.4% and subdural haemorrage in 80.5% of the cases. Contusions and laceration of brain were found in 38.1% and 29.7% victims respectively. Cerebellar involved in seen in 0.42% of victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicidal death is emerging as major social problem worldwide. The methods used to commit suicide depend upon the availability of means, knowledge about lethal effectiveness, the victim's motivation and intent. A retrospective study on suicidal deaths in Surat city (Gujarat) was carried out by the Dept. of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, SMIMER, Surat during the period of three years (2008-2010) to find out the incidence of suicide, age and sex distribution, motivating factors, method of suicides etc. 21.10% victims committed suicide by different methods. Among them male group predominated female group with ratio of 1.58:1. Suicidal deaths were more common in married group (70.3%). The incidences of suicide were found higher in 3rd quarter of the day (41.75%). Personal dispute (49.50%) was the prime motive behind suicide. The commonest method adopted for suicide was poisoning (48.6%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol-impaired driving continues to be one of the nation's most serious public health problems. The NCRB report states that drunken driving is a major factor for road accidents. There is progressive loss of driving ability as blood alcohol concentration increases due to increase in reaction time, false confidence, impaired concentration and decreased visual and auditory acuity. This study does a systematic analysis of factors like population profile, time of incident, place of occurrence, cause of death, blood alcohol concentration involved etc., enabling an assessment of different aspects of alcohol related road traffic fatalities. This study evaluates the frequency of drunken drivers with fatalities.The study was conducted on victims of fatal road traffic accidents in Mahboobnagar District Mortuary. Details were noted using an intake proforma including all the factors. Samples of blood were collected and subjected to Gas Chromatography. All the subjects in this study died due to the reason that under the influence of alcohol there is a decrease in driving ability and reaction time which leads to more sloppy driver behavior and accidents. Thereby concluding that to prevent drunken driving fatalities we need not formulate new suggestions and rules, but rather follow the existing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The victim of RTA may sustain injury to any part of body but injury to brain is single most common cause of morbidity and mortality in accidents. Survival of the victim depends not only on diagnosis of head injury but survival and prognosis is affected by various factors eg mechanism of injur, type, extent and severity of head injury along with pre-existing pathology if any. The objective of planning the present study was to analyze the pattern of Fatal Head Injury sustained in vehicular accidents. RTA is leading cause of unintentional accidental death specially among the young and productive age group people of the country. However, prompt medical and surgical intervention assisted by radiological and laboratory evaluation can save a life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burn injury cases are one of the common medical emergencies admitted to any hospital in India. There are several factors, which play role in the treatment, management, autopsy and investigations of burns death cases. This study is conducted with the aim to study the epidemiology of the burn deaths. All the records of the autopsies which were performed between January 2008 and December 2012 were analyzed with respect to burn death, the age-gender distribution of burn death and manner of death. It was observed that total 7606 cases of unnatural death occurred at PGIMS Rohtak and brought to mortuary of Forensic Medicine Department between January 2008 and December 2012. It was analysed that most common cause of death was road side accident (32.78%) followed by burns (22.13%), poisoning (21.54%), murder (4.67%), railway accident ( 3.02%), drowning and other asphyxial deaths (2.59%), fall from height (1.42%), electrocution ( 1.36%), excess of alcohol (1%), snake bite (0.24%) and 9.23% of the deaths were described as miscellaneous deaths. It was analysed that out of 7606 deaths, 1683 were the burn deaths. Majority of the burn victims were female i.e. 62%. The maximum number of the victims belonged to age group of 21to 30 years i.e. 46%, followed by the age group of 31years to 40 years i.e.23.35%, with the least number of victims from the age group of less than ten years i.e.1.48 % followed by the age group of more than fifty years i.e. 2.14 % cases. Manner of the burns was accident in majority of cases i.e. 73% followed by suicide i.e. 21% and homicide was found in 6% cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was done on blunt chest trauma related deaths in the city of Bangalore, which focused on deaths due to Road traffic accidents among two-wheelers. Study includes 64 deaths, 49 deaths being because of RTA, apart from fall from height and assaults. 40% of people who died because of RTA were in the age limits of 21-30 years. 24.5% in the age of 31-40 years. Males predominated with rate of 83.7%. All the deaths were accidental, detected by autopsy and by investigation. 61% of deaths were among riders. Most accidents occurred on city roads i.e., 79.6% and on highways 14.2%. 62% of people survived till 6 hours after the accident. Maximum cases were brought dead to the hospital. Death was mostly due to blunt trauma to the trunk and combined regions. This study mainly aims at determining the survival period, two wheeler chest injuries and possible preventions for it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hanging and ligature strangulation are common causes of asphyxial deaths due to compression of neck by ligature material. Damage of osteo-cartilaginous structures of neck in form of fractures of hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage is the important finding indicative of compression on neck by external force in form of ligature. The present study was carried out to know the incidence of fractures of hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage in hanging and ligature strangulation. Materials and method: A cross sectional study of a total of 105 cases of hanging and ligature strangulation was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Victoria Hospital over a period of 20 months from November 2009 to June 2011. Results: Of the 109 cases studied, hanging constitutes 105 cases (96%) and ligature strangulation constitutes 04 cases (4%). Among 105 cases of deaths due to hanging, 61(58.09%) were male and 44(41.90%) were female with a mean age at death of 30.3 + 11.23. Hyoid bone was fractured in 4 cases (3.8%) and thyroid cartilage was fractured in 3 cases (2.85%) in cases of hanging. All the cases of fracture of hyoid bone (3.8%) and fracture of thyroid cartilage (2.85%) in death due to hanging were male. Conclusion: Increase in age is the most important factor that contributes to fracture of hyoid bone in hanging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many medical advances, burns continue to remain a challenging problem. It is because of lack of infrastructure and trained professionals as well as the increased cost of treatment, which have an impact on the outcome. Here in this retrospective study, we try to give very little information on the pattern of outcomes among burn victims -- in relation to demographic aspects. pattern and magnitude of all the death due to burns which is registered in the post-mortem register in the forensic department of Government madurai medical college, was analyzed between January to December 2015. This study shows out of 380 burns cases the female victims constitute the majority 246(64.73%) then male 134(35.26%). The most of the cases lies in the age group 1-30 years (28.52%). The maximum cases were reported in June followed by April. Again most of the cases reported in summer followed by winter. The objective of the study was to analyze the various demographic aspects of deaths due to burns so as to suggest some remedial measures1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicidal hanging still remains one of the commonest methods of committing suicide. A careful examination of the ligature material is very important while giving an opinion in hanging. This is an autopsy based study of hanging cases, conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Gauhati Medical College in the year 2014-2015 to analyze the pattern of ligature mark. During this study period, a total number of 2964 autopsies were carried out in the department, out of which 379 cases were associated with hanging. Male female ratio was found as 2.32:1. Majority of the cases 111 (29.29%) were found using plastic ropes as a ligature material in hanging. The commonest position of the knot was behind the left mastoid 125 (32.98%). Only 17 cases (4.48%) showed presence of ligature material in situ. Position of the ligature was above the thyroid cartilage in 100% cases. The ligature mark showed marked grooved pattern in 135 cases (35.62%). Grooved pattern of ligature mark was associated with plastic rope 103 (27.18%) and coir rope 23 (6.07%). Majority of grooved pattern 24.52% was seen between 6-12 hours period of suspension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Deaths due to asphyxia are one of the most important causes of violent deaths amongst which hanging and strangulation are commonly encountered in day to day autopsy. The ligature mark around the victim's neck is an extremely important piece of evidence to arrive at a conclusion as to the cause of death whether hanging or strangulation, though on some rare occasions, the forensic pathologist finds it problematic to opine confirmatively about the cause and manner of death. Objectives: The purpose of the study is know the histopathological findings of skin and subcutaneous structures of ligature mark with regard to the type of hanging and ligature strangulation. Methodology: A cross sectional study of a total of 105 cases of hanging and ligature strangulation was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Victoria Hospital over a period of 20 months from November 2009 to June 2011. Data was collected by histopathology of skin sample and analyzed. Results: Of the 109 cases studied, hanging constitutes 105 cases (96%) and ligature strangulation constitutes 04 cases (4%). The microscopic study of ligature mark revealed that compression of epidermis and flattening of cells in 93 cases (88.6%) of hanging and 3cases (75%) of strangulation and Collagen condensation in 97cases (92.4%) of hanging and 3cases (75%) of strangulation. Conclusion: The present study will be of great help in establishing the cause of death from the histopathological studies of the soft tissues of the neck as well as ante-mortem v/s postmortem aspects of such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]