ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 5 May 2004
Page Count: 5

Virtopsy—Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident with Head Injury
Jackowski, C
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern,

Aghayev, E
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern,

Yen, K
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern,

Sonnenschein, M
Institute of Diagnostic Radiology,

Thali, M
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern,

Vock, P
Institute of Diagnostic Radiology,

Dirnhofer, R
Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern,

(Received 8 November 2003; accepted 15 March 2004)

Abstract

A man wearing no protective helmet was struck by a motor vehicle while riding a bicycle. He was loaded on his left side, and the impact point of his head was his occiput on the car roof girder. He was immediately transported to the general hospital, where he passed away. Postmortem examination using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) revealed an extensively comminuted fracture of the posterior part and the base of the skull. Observed were deep direct and contrecoup brain bruises, with the independent fractures of the roof of the both orbits. Massive subdural and subarachnoidal hemorrhage with cerebral edema and shifting of the mid-line towards left side were also detected. MSCT and autopsy results were compared and the body injuries were correlated to vehicle damages. In conclusion, postmortem imaging is a good forensic visualization tool with great potential for documentation and examination of body injuries and pathology.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic radiology, digital autopsy, virtual autopsy, virtopsy, computed tomography (CT), postmortem, fracture, of the base of the skull, ring fracture

Paper ID: JFS2003378
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2003378
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