Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Virtual autopsy' helps identify drowning as cause of death / EurekAlert!, 29 May 2007
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/rson-ah052507.php
""Virtual autopsy" performed with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) can aid forensics teams in determining if a person has drowned, according to a study published in the June issue of Radiology. MDCT is comparable to conventional autopsy in demonstrating airway froth and sediment that are indicative of drowning.
The determination of drowning as a cause of death for a body that is found in water is imperative in forensic investigation because becoming submerged in water may be a secondary rather than primary event. Autopsy findings that support the diagnosis of drowning include but are not limited to frothy fluid in the airways or lungs, hyperinflated and congested lungs, and fluid in the paranasal sinuses or stomach."

Virtual Autopsy: Two- and Three-dimensional Multidetector CT Findings in Drowning with Autopsy Comparison
Radiology 2007;243:862-868
http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content/abstract/243/3/862
Angela D. Levy, H. Theodore Harcke, John M. Getz, Craig T. Mallak, James L. Caruso, Lisa Pearse, Aletta A. Frazier, and Jeffrey R. Galvin, MD
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