Asphyxial Deaths

Long Questions
A young woman of about 20 years was found hanging from ceiling of her room with a
dupatta and feet dangling from the ground, in her rented accommodation by her landlord today morning 7:00 AM, she
was fully clothed but her clothes were turned inside out. She
was seen last alive by her landlord at about 8:00 PM the previous night when she had left for a party. Police were
called and the body, with a ligature intact, was shifted to the mortuary by 8:00 AM. Paper were prepared for
postmortem examination and presented at about 10:30 AM. You are the doctor conducting the postmortem
examination. a. What findings on the body will help you arriving at the probable time since death in this case? Give
the specific
time limits of each for this particular case. b. Enumerate the specific samples that you should collect in such a case,
give reasons in support of the same. c. Define hanging. Which type of hanging is present in this case? d. How will you
remove the ligature material from the neck of the victim?
Dead body of an adult female recovered from a bedroom. An area of pallor on otherwise suffused face along with 1.2
× 0.1 cm crescentic abrasion on the right side of face is present. [Link] is your opinion regarding the cause of death?
[Link] the violent asphyxia death. [Link] are the other postmortem findings and importance of circumstantial
evidence in this specific case?
Define hanging. How are you going to come to conclusion that it is antemortem in nature? How it differs from
ligature strangulation?
Define asphyxia. What are the cardinal signs of asphyxia? What are the differences between antemortem and
postmortem hanging?
A dead body of a female with a ligature around the neck is brought for the autopsy. Discuss in brief postmortem
findings differentiating hanging from ligature strangulation.
Classify asphyxial deaths. Describe in detail the postmortem findings and causes of death in a case of a hanging.
Define and classify strangulation. Describe the autopsy findings in case of ligature strangulation.
Describe the external and internal postmortem findings of manual strangulation. How strangulation is procured for
homicidal purpose?
Enumerate various violent asphyxia deaths. What are the postmortem findings in a case of throttling? Add a note on
hyoid bone fractures.
What is atypical drowning? Discuss briefly the postmortem findings of a case of drowning.
Enumerate the different types of strangulation. Write the postmortem findings in case of throttling.
Define drowning. Enumerate types of drowning and discuss postmortem findings and laboratory investigation in a
case of wet drowning.
Describe the postmortem findings in death due to drowning
Enumerate types of drowning. Describe autopsy findings of antemortem drowning.
Classify violent asphyxia deaths. Discuss the postmortem findings in case of freshwater drowning.
Short Notes
Paltauf’s hemorrhage
Postmortem features of fresh water drowning
Fractures of the hyoid bone
Gettler's test
Describe the ligature mark of typical hanging
Wet drowning
Drowning in the sea water
Throttling
Internal findings in a case of death due to drowning
Burking
Diatoms test
Smothering
Café coronary
Emphysema aquosum
Shallow water drowning
Pathophysiology of fresh water and sea water drowning
Short note on froth from nose and mouth in deceased
Absence of froth does not rule out AM drowning
Cutis anserine
How histology of lungs helps in diagnosis of drowning?
Lynching
Traumatic asphyxia
Neck finding in manual strangulation

Differences
Hanging and strangulation
Antemortem and postmortem hanging
Wet drowning and dry drowning
Fresh water drowning and sea water drowning
Mechanical Injuries , Regional Injuries, Thermal Injuries
Long Questions
20-year-old female domestic maid presents to the emergency with burns over both lower limbs. Her employer gives a
history of spillage of boiling water over her body parts while
she shakes her head in disagreement. The burnt areas also look suspicious and not consistent with the history given by
the employer. a. How will you confirm whether the injury is due to spillage of hot liquid and not by flame or use of
corrosive? b. If the burns are confirmed to
be sure to corrosive, how will you manage it? c. What shall be your medico-legal duties in such a case?
d male presents to causality with multiple injuries over head caused allegedly from assault by many people. In such a
case: a. What features help you differentiate a lacerated wound from incised wound? b. What features of any
mechanical injury help in indication the nature of inflicting weapon? c. What criterion is used to opine an injury as
Grievous?
Classify mechanical injuries. Describe the characteristic features of stab and incised wound.
Define injury. Classify mechanical injuries and describe briefly the different types of stab wounds.
Outline the features of suicide by firearm. What is the appearance of entry wound caused by revolver shot at a
distance of 3 cm and 10 cm?

Classify firearms. Discuss the findings of entry bones caused by rifled firearm from various ranges.
Define and classify burns. How will you differentiate antemortem and postmortem burns? What are the causes of
death in case of burns?
Classify injuries. Discuss the postmortem findings in case of death due to antemortem flame burns.
Classify thermal injuries. Describe the postmortem findings in case of death due to burn injuries.
Define grievous hurt as per Section 320 of IPC. What is dangerous weapon or means?
Enumerate various skull fractures. Add a note on subdural hemorrhage.
Define injury. Write medical, legal and medico-legal classification of injury. How will you differentiate suicidal cut
throat injury from homicidal cut throat injury?
What is the difference between injury, wound and hurt? How can you estimate age of contusion?
Define bruise. How can you determine age of bruise? How does parallel bruise occur?
Define injury. Classify mechanical injuries and explain contusion in detail.
Classify mechanical wounds. Describe the different types of lacerated wounds with their medico-legal importance.

Classify mechanical injuries. Write down the difference between laceration and incised wound. On what parts of the
body hesitation cuts are seen?

Short Notes
Classify mechanical injuries
MLI of incised wounds
Degree of flame burns
Heat hematoma
Explain various causes of death in case of flame burns
Complications of burns
Explain why Wilson’s first degree burns are more painful than third degree burns.
Rule of 9
Joule Burns/ Endogenous Burns
Enumerate injuries caused by hard and blunt object. Describe any one of these in detail.
Abrasion
Filigree burns
Harakiri
Split laceration/incised looking wounds
Write MLI of Tailing of wound
Delayed bruise
Concealed puncture wounds
Explain why stab injury over auricles is immediately fatal, whereas those over the ventricles are not?
Chop wound
Punch Drunk syndrome
Heat stroke
Whiplash injury
Stab injury
Lacerated wound
Propellant
Hesitation cuts
Section 320 IPC
Self-inflicted injury/fabricated Injuries
Types of skull fractures
Signature fracture
Pond Fracture
Age of contusion
Tandem bullet
Abrasion collar
Coup and contrecoup injuries
Mechanism of coup and contrecoup injuries and its MLI
Choking in a firearm
Cartridge of shotgun
Characteristics external features of contact shot wound by rifled firearm.
Entry wound in firearm injury
Caliber
Bullet fingerprinting
Patterned injuries
Injuries seen in pedestrians in road traffic accidents
Primary impact injury
Close firing may not be evident on examination of gunshot wound
Intra-cranial hemorrhages
Extradural hemorrhage
Sub-arachnoid hemorrhage
All murders are homicides but all homicides are not murder.
Explain why, in extremes of age EDH is rare but SDH is common.

Differences
Suicidal and homicidal wounds
Exogenous and endogenous burns
Coup and contrecoup injuries
Burns from dry heat and moist heat
Antemortem burns and postmortem burns
Heat Hematoma and EDH/Heat hematoma and Traumatic Hematoma
True bruise and artificial bruise
Incised and incised looking wounds
Incised and lacerated wound
Suicidal and homicidal cut throat injuries
Contusion and postmortem staining
Difference between antemortem and postmortem injuries