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The diagnosis of death by drowning remains a difficult task for forensic experts at the time of postmortem examination. The presence of putrefaction and postmortem artefacts cover essential signs of drowning found on external and internal examination of dead body. This study involved gross examination of middle ear cavity for presence of haemorrhage to establish a diagnosis of antemortem drowning. It was planned considering the lack of research on this subject in the North Indian population. This study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab and included drowning deaths brought for autopsy. This study helped assessing the reliability of incidence of middle ear hemorrhage to affirm the diagnosis of antemortem drowning in the absence of other external and internal signs suggestive of drowning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Physical violence and aggression has been extensively studied in relation to different forms of aggression, gender differences, its effects, risk factors etc. Violence not only results in physical problems but it also has economic and psychological impact on the victim. Cases of physical violence are usually brought to emergency and vary from minor injuries to fatal outcome. Methods: This research aims to understand patterns of physical assault and identify ways to prevent and reduce the incidence. The two year retrospective study was carried out between 1st June 2020 to 31th June 2022 from the in the causality data of tertiary care center in Punjab. Results: Of the total, 76.5% of the cases were male. 35.2% cases fall in age group of 21 to 30 years. Most commonly encountered injury sites were head-face-neck region in 39.6% of the cases. 60.89% cases were seen in rural area. Use of blunt weapon was seen in 64.80% of cases. Bruise was most common type of injury seen in 38.42% cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Paraquat dichloride is a widely used, highly toxic herbicide which is sold as a brownish concentrated liquid of 10-30% strength. Due to easy availability and no specific antidote, numerous fatal cases of paraquat poisoning by ingestion have been reported accidently or with a suicidal intent. Case description: A 30 year old alcoholic man who unintentionally consumed poison in an inebriated state leading to spillage over the unhealed skin lesions over neck and chest area, who presented to hospital emergency 5 days after the exposure with complaints of breathlessness and reddish skin lesions and subsequently died over the course of treatment. Discussion: The findings of this case highlight fatal systemic effects caused by accidental spillage over dermal lesions leading to respiratory and renal failure. This signifies the magnitude of dermal absorption and the measures to avoid a minimal exposure turning into a hazardous event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Head Injury is one of the major causes of mortality among travelling population. It is one of the leading health problems all over the world which requires proper attention. The aim of the retrospective cross sectional study is to study the pattern of head injuries in fatal cases due to fall in Malwa region of Punjab. Methods: This study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital at Faridkot from 1st May 2018 to 30th April 2019 and 100 cases of death due to fall were subjected to detailed post-mortem examination. Results: It is observed that road traffic accident was the commonest cause of head injury seen in 70 (70%) cases. This is followed by fall from height 15 (15%) cases and assault 10 (10%) cases. The other causes like railway accident or incidental slipping were seen in 5% cases. Conclusion: In our study, the most common cause of head injury overall was road traffic accidents. The victims were mostly males of the age group 31-40 years. Most of the patients of head injury were managed conservatively while few cases were operated upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to know the status of specialized goat training of GADVASU. A total of 118 farmers from 3 training programmes were personally interviewed. There is significant (P<0.01) improvement in knowledge after attending goat training. 61.87% of farmers were beginners to this profession out of which 39.72% farmers adopted goat farming and 31.11% farmers expanded goat farming after training. Majority (90.68%) of the farmers reported monthly magazine of GADVASU as best media for their knowledge enhancement. Training programme has been found to be an excellent extension tool which suggests the increasing role of extension personnel in the rural upliftment programmes through goat husbandry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-inflicting injury is a recognised psychiatric disorder. Such cases are regularly seen in the emergency department, with a false history of assault. Most of these are easily detected by a forensic medicine expert as they present as described in literature but are difficult to explain if altered by professionals for nefarious reasons., Method: This was a prospective study carried out at a tertiary centre. The data was collected and analysed from the office records of medico-legal reports prepared at our institute between 25 February 2022 and 25 February 2023., Results: 21 cases were recorded, that met with our criteria. Most involved males (90.5%). Minimum age was 27 years and maximum age 66 years with a mean of 48.6 years and a standard deviation of ±11 years. Most offenders were unemployed (38.1%). Most fractured bone was tibia (47.6%). Left-sided fractures were more common (61.9%). Injuries corresponded with the findings on clothes in three cases (14.3%)., Discussion: Fabricated wounds will reflect the intentions of the fabricator and may range from superficial wounds to grievous injury. Only a critical analysis of all medico-legal cases will identify them, and they will have similarities of presentation., Conclusion: Such findings have rarely been reported in other parts of India. A diligently prepared medico-legal report and profiling of all cases can help establish patterns of such injuries.