Drowning investigated by post mortem computed tomography and autopsy

Publication date: Available online 8 February 2017 Source:Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging Author(s): Peter Mygind Leth, Betina Hauge Madsen Case control study of drowning fatalities investigated with autopsy and post mortem computed tomography (PMCT). 40 drowning fatalities (25 men, 15 women; 24 salt water, 16 fresh water) and 80 controls were included. The aim was to investigate the difference in lung tissue density (g/liter) and radio opacity between drowning cases compared to control cases and to determine if it was possible to differentiate saltwater and freshwater drowning by measuring a difference in radio density of blood in the hearth chambers or great vessels before and after passage through the lungs of a drowned individual or when comparing drowned individuals with controls. The lung density was measured by a combination of PMCT measured total lung volume and autopsy measured total lung weight. We found that the lung density and the lung radio density were decreased, the lung volume increased and the lung weights equal in drowning cases compared to controls, illustrating the phenomenon knows as “emphysema aquosum”. The physiological explanation could be washing out of surfactant by the drowning media, resulting in atelectasis and trapping of air in the peripheral lung regions. It was not possible to separate fresh and saltwater drowning by comparing radio opacity of blood in the hearth chambers or great vessels or by comparing the radio opacity of...
Source: Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging - Category: Radiology Source Type: research