Strangulation signs: initial correlation of MRI, MSCT, and forensic neck findings

Yen, Kathrin; Thali, Michael J; Aghayev, Emin; Jackowski, Christian; Schweitzer, Wolf; Boesch, Chris; Vock, Peter; Dirnhofer, Richard; Sonnenschein, Martin (2005). Strangulation signs: initial correlation of MRI, MSCT, and forensic neck findings. Journal of magnetic resonance imaging, 22(4), pp. 501-10. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Interscience 10.1002/jmri.20396

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PURPOSE: To evaluate multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in hanging and manual strangulation cases and compare them with forensic autopsy results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Postmortem MSCT and MRI of nine persons who died from hanging or manual strangulation were performed. The neck findings were compared with those discovered during forensic autopsy. In addition, two living patients underwent imaging and clinical examination following severe manual strangulation and near-hanging, respectively. For evaluation, the findings were divided into "primary" (strangulation mark and subcutaneous desiccation (i.e., soft-tissue thinning as a result of tissue fluids being driven out by mechanical compression) in hanging, and subcutaneous and intramuscular hemorrhage in manual strangulation) and "collateral" signs. The Wilcoxon two-tailed test was used for statistical analysis of the lymph node and salivary gland findings. RESULTS: In hanging, the primary and most frequent collateral signs were revealed by imaging. In manual strangulation, the primary findings were accurately depicted, with the exception of one slight hemorrhage. Apart from a vocal cord hemorrhage, all frequent collateral signs could be diagnosed radiologically. Traumatic lymph node hemorrhage (P = 0.031) was found in all of the manual strangulation cases. CONCLUSION: MSCT and MRI revealed strangulation signs concordantly with forensic pathology findings. Imaging offers a great potential for the forensic examination of lesions due to strangulation in both clinical and postmortem settings.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine (DRNN) > Institute of Diagnostic, Interventional and Paediatric Radiology > DCR Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Methodology (AMSM)
UniBE Contributor:	Boesch, Christoph Hans
ISSN:	1053-1807
Publisher:	Wiley Interscience
Language:	English
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 15:11
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2023 23:23
Publisher DOI:	10.1002/jmri.20396
PubMed ID:	16142698
Web of Science ID:	000232317700008
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/31495 (FactScience: 196081)