[Spontaneous degeneration of the posticus muscle]

The intrinsic muscles of the larynx were prepared in 265 forensic postmortems (death by strangulation: 73; other violent deaths: 93, natural death: 79, others: 20) for a histological examination. Muscle-fiber alterations were found in the (macroscopically normal) PCA muscle in most cases where the persons were of middle age or older. There were abnormalities such as rows or clumps of nuclei (also inside muscle fibers), the accumulation of lipofuscin pigment, focal or total necrosis of muscle fibers with or without predominant histiocytic infiltration, atrophic muscle cells, and fibrosis. The changes were mostly mild (normal muscle cells predominated) but clearly visible. If there had been acute damage to the larynx (for instance, death some time after attempted strangulation), these preexistent alterations must be taken into consideration when interpreting the microscopical findings.