Correlation between skeletal trauma and energy in falls from great height detected by post-mortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT)

Weilemann, Y; Thali, M J; Kneubuehl, B P; Bolliger, Stephan (2008). Correlation between skeletal trauma and energy in falls from great height detected by post-mortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT). Forensic science international, 180(2-3), pp. 81-5. Shannon: Elsevier Scientific Publ. Ireland 10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.07.003

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Fatal falls from great height are a frequently encountered setting in forensic pathology. They present--by virtue of a calculable energy transmission to the body--an ideal model for the assessment of the effects of blunt trauma to a human body. As multislice computed tomography (MSCT) has proven not only to be invaluable in clinical examinations, but also to be a viable tool in post-mortem imaging, especially in the field of osseous injuries, we performed a MSCT scan on 20 victims of falls from great height. We hereby detected fractures and their distributions were compared with the impact energy. Our study suggests a marked increase of extensive damage to different body regions at about 20 kJ and more. The thorax was most often affected, regardless of the amount of impacting energy and the primary impact site. Cranial fracture frequency displayed a biphasic distribution with regard to the impacting energy; they were more frequent in energies of less than 10, and more than 20 kJ, but rarer in the intermediate energy group, namely that of 10-20 kJ.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Medicine 04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine 04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Imaging
UniBE Contributor:	Thali, Michael, Kneubühl, Beat P., Bolliger, Stephan
ISSN:	0379-0738
ISBN:	18768271
Publisher:	Elsevier Scientific Publ. Ireland
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 15:04
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:19
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.07.003
PubMed ID:	18768271
Web of Science ID:	000260327300004
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/27891 (FactScience: 113474)