Mahabalesh Shetty

An Autopsy Case of Sudden Unexplained Death Caused by Malaria

Abstract:  Sudden unexplained deaths, especially those unwitnessed can lead to forensic issues and would necessitate the need for a meticulous and complete postmortem examination including ancillary investigations to discover the cause of death. We herein report a case of sudden unexplained death caused by malaria in an apparently healthy individual. This fatal case is presented to remind the forensic pathologist of the possibility of malaria as a cause of sudden unexplained death in malaria‐endemic regions. In the present case, histopathological examination demonstrated the presence of parasitized red blood cells with malarial pigment in the blood capillaries in the brain, myocardium, pericardium, lungs, kidneys, liver, and the spleen. Cerebral malaria with acute renal insufficiency or pulmonary edema with an acute respiratory distress syndrome might have been the cause of death.

Fatal Craniocerebral Injury from Wild Boar Attack

Figure 1. Abrasions and puncture wounds on the thighs. There has been and will continue to be proactive communication on behalf of the Society with program directors and medical school deans to inform them of our resources, in both curricula material and speakers. The ability of educators, residents, and students to connect with each other has been expanded through use of the WMS site, which not only facilitates communication but also provides a way to assess the demographics of wilderness medicine education. There has been and will continue to be efforts made to reach out to other academic groups to create practice standards, as well as influence curricula. We are engaged with creating a joint statement on practice standards with the wilderness medicine subsection of the American College of Emergency Physicians. All these steps represent a new and exciting time in the evolution of our field and will further promote the WMS as its sole academic body and as a viable academic clearinghouse for students and future practitioners.

Effect of Fibre Orientation on Mode-I Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Glass Epoxy Composites

The mode-I interlaminar fracture toughness (IFT) property of room temperature (RT) cured glass-epoxy (LY556/HY95 1) composites was studied using a double cantilever beam (DCB) test specimen with unidirectional fibre orientations of 0°, +450/-450, +600/-600 and 900 in the neighborhood of the crack zone. Three IFT data reduction techniques, viz.: (1) Modified Beam Theory (MBT), (2) Compliance Calibration Theory (CC) and (3) Modified Compliance Calibration Theory (MCC) were verified for the DCB data generated for 0° fibre oriented specimens. The fracture toughness property estimates were noted to be approximately the same for all three techniques. Only the MBT reduction procedure (as per ASTM) was used for other orientations. It was observed that the IFT increased as the fibre orientation was changed from 0° to 900 with reference to the direction of crack propagation.

Postmortem diagnosis of acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis

Forensic pathologists can help in the investigation of sudden unexpected deaths in co-operation with the officials responsible for the maintenance of law and order to administer justice. Sudden unexpected deaths form the subject of medicolegal investigation if they occur in apparently healthy individuals, wherein an autopsy would shed light regarding the cause of death. A 4 year retrospective review of autopsy files at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, South India was undertaken for cases of sudden unexpected deaths due to acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis occurring between May 2004 and April 2008. A total of seven cases of acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis diagnosed at autopsy as the cause of sudden unexpected death during the study period are discussed herein.

“Atypical Suicidal” cut throat injury – A case report

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the world. The incidence and pattern of suicide vary from country to country. Cultural, religious and social value plays a vital role. Hanging, poisoning, drowning are the common methods of committing suicide. Suicide by incising ones own throat without hesitation marks remains a rare, and only few cases have been reported in the forensic literature. We present here an unusual and rare case of self-inflicted cut throat injury of a 45-year old ex-military man without tentative cuts over the neck, which has resulted from a curved sharp weapon.

Acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis – A case of sudden death

Sudden death in young individuals is relatively uncommon and acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis as a cause of sudden and unexpected death is a rare phenomenon. A case of sudden death due to acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis is reported in a young doctor who ignored the radiating pain of acute pancreatitis for gastritis, and resorted to self-medication. The condition was discovered only at autopsy.

Forensic evaluation of occupational marks in establishing identity—A case report

The livings have responsibilities for the dead; and in particular, civilized societies recognize the need for identity both during life and at death, particularly in circumstances when an unknown body is summoned for medico-legal autopsy. There are numerous tools for identification of an unknown body which includes visual identification, fingerprints, medical prostheses, odontological techniques, DNA fingerprints and to include in the list is the occupational marks over the body sustained during the course of his or her profession. The medico-legal investigators should possess comprehensive knowledge of such occupational marks, which aid in identification. We are highlighting a case of rare entity, where a forensic evaluation of occupational marks was done to establish the identity of an unknown elderly male, who committed suicide by ligature hanging.

An unusual circumstance of internal chemical burn injury - a case report.

Chemical burn injuries including nitric acid injuries are rarely seen in routine clinical practice. In this article, we describe a case of chemical burns due to ingestion of nitric acid in which the history was not of an accidental but of a suicidal nature. Spillage of nitric acid (vitriolage) is frequently reported especially in the third-world countries, but an ingestion injury like this is uncommon and rarely reported.

Male external genitalia injury caused by ‘elephant stampede’

We report an unusual and rare cause of male external genitalia injury, caused by an elephant stampede. The incident occurred when the unfortunate victim was attending a �call of nature� early one morning in the coffee plantation estate adjacent to his residence in Coorg District of Karnataka State, India. The patient sustained injuries to the left chest and left thigh, as well as a degloving scrotal injury on the right side. Language: en

The Mangalore Aircrash of 22 May 2010: Practical Problems Related to Identification of the Dead in a Populous Developing Country

It was a sad and emotional moment for the citizens of Mangalore, India when the “Dubai to Mangalore” Air India Express Boeing 737-800 flight IX-812 crashed at the Mangalore International Airport on 22 May 2010, killing 158 people on board. Identification of the victims was difficult as most of the bodies were charred beyond easy recognition. The practical problems faced by the legal authorities in identifying the charred victims in a populous and developing country like India are discussed in this paper.