OBJECTIVES: To survey the development status and actual needs of virtual autopsy technology in China and to clarify the applicability of forensic virtual autopsy laboratory accreditation. METHODS: The questionnaire was set up included three aspects：(1) the current status of virtual autopsy technology development; (2) the accreditation elements such as personnel, equipment, entrustment and acceptance, methods, environmental facilities; (3) the needs and suggestions of practicing institutions. A total of 130 forensic pathology institutions were surveyed by online participation through the Questionnaire Star platform. RESULTS: Among the 130 institutions, 43.08% were familiar with the characteristics of virtual autopsy technology, 35.38% conducted or received training in virtual autopsy, and 70.77% have establishment needs (including maintenance). Relevant elements were suitable for laboratory accreditation. CONCLUSIONS Virtual autopsy identification has gained social recognition. There is a demand for accreditation of forensic virtual autopsy laboratory. After the preliminary assessment, considering the characteristics and current situation of this technology, China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) can first carry out the accreditation pilot of virtual autopsy project at large comprehensive forensic institutions with higher identification capability, and then CNAS can popularize the accreditation in a wide range when the conditions are suitable.
Autopsy ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Accreditation ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the gross pathological data of sudden cardiac death (SCD) with different causes, to provide data support for the identification of sudden cardiac death with unknown causes. METHODS: A total of 167 adult SCD cases in the archive of the Forensic Expertise Institute of Nanjing Medical University from 2010 to 2020 were collected. The gross pathological data of SCD cases were summarized and the characteristics of different causes of death were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The ratio of male to female SCD cases was 3.4∶1. Coronary heart disease was the leading cause of SCD, and mainly distributed in people over 40 years old. SCD caused by myocarditis was mainly distributed in young people and the mean age of death was (34.00±9.55) years. By analyzing the differences in cardiac pathological parameters of SCD with different causes, it was found that the aortic valve circumference was significantly dilated in the SCD caused by aortic aneurysm or dissection (P<0.05). The heart weight of SCD caused by aortic aneurysm or dissection and combined factors was greater, and both pulmonary and tricuspid valvular rings were dilated in the SCD caused by combined factors in adult males (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Various gross pathological measures of SCD with different causes are different, which has reference value in the cause of death identification of SCD.
Humans ; Adult ; Male ; Female ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac/pathology* ; Coronary Disease ; Heart ; Forensic Medicine ; Autopsy

In the practice of forensic pathology, fat embolism is one of the common causes of death, which can be divided into two categories: traumatic and non-traumatic. Non-traumatic fat embolism refers to the blockage of small blood vessels by fat droplets in the circulatory blood flow caused by non-traumatic factors such as underlying diseases, stress, poisoning and lipid metabolism disorders. At present, it is believed that the production of non-traumatic fat embolism is related to the disturbance of lipid metabolism, C-reactive protein-related cascade reaction, the agglutination of chylomicron and very low-density lipoprotein. The forensic identification of the cause of death of non-traumatic fat embolism is mainly based on the case, systematic autopsy, HE staining and fat staining, but it is often missed or misdiagnosed by forensic examiners because of its unknown risk factors, hidden onset, the difficulty of HE staining observation and irregular implementation of fat staining. In view of the lack of attention to non-traumatic fat embolism in forensic identification, this paper reviews the concepts, pathophysiological mechanism, research progress, existing problems and countermeasures of non-traumatic fat embolism, providing reference for forensic scholars.
Autopsy ; Embolism, Fat/pathology* ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans ; Pulmonary Embolism/pathology*

The postmortem diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), especially the postmortem diagnosis of early AMI that died immediately after onset or within 1 hour, has always been a difficulty in forensic identification. This article reviews the forensic application of diagnosis and analysis methods for AMI postmortem diagnosis including autopsy imaging, histomorphology, immunohisto-chemistry, biochemical marker and molecular biology diagnosis, and explores the feasible scheme of early postmortem diagnosis in AMI.
Autopsy ; Biomarkers ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology/methods* ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis* ; Postmortem Changes

In criminal investigations, postmortem interval (PMI) is important information to be inferred in homicide investigations, as well as the focus and the difficulty in forensic pathology research. Because the DNA content in different tissues is relatively constant and shows changes regularly with the extension of PMI, it has become a research hotspot of PMI estimation. This paper reviews the recent progress of PMI estimation technologies including DNA-based single cell gel electrophoresis, image analysis, flow cytometry, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing, hoping to provide references for forensic medicine practice and scientific research.
Humans ; Postmortem Changes ; Autopsy/methods* ; DNA/genetics* ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology

Investigation of the cause of death during diving is one of the contents of forensic pathology. In this article, relevant foreign literature is reviewed to summarize the techniques and methods used in the identification of diving deaths, such as accident reconstruction, diving monitoring data, postmortem CT examination and gas analysis (location and quantity) in the body of the corpse, in order to provide a reference for forensic identification of such cases.
Autopsy/methods* ; Diving ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans ; Postmortem Changes

In recent years, postmortem biochemistry analysis has gradually been applied to forensic practice, providing objective evidence for health conditions before death, disease pathophysiological processes and forensic diagnosis of postmortem interval and cause of death. It is of great significance to understand the change patterns of postmortem biochemical indicators and their applications in forensic medicine. This article reviews the research progress of postmortem biochemistry and its application in forensic medicine, it summarizes the existing problems of postmortem biochemistry analysis in forensic medicine of China and discusses the application prospect of postmortem biochemistry analysis in forensic medicine. This review is expected to provide references for forensic practitioners.
Autopsy/methods* ; China ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans ; Postmortem Changes

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication results from the high blood levels of glucose and ketone in diabetes mellitus patients that cause metabolic overbalance. An analysis of postmortem biochemical indexes is needed in such cases without specific signs of the routine forensic medicine examination. Postmortem biochemistry is a kind of examinations that collecting the body fluids of the corpses to determine the metabolic state of their life time to estimate the cause of death. This paper reviews the basic features and signs of the forensic medicine examination in the dead cases of diabetic ketoacidosis, and emphatically analyzes the postmortem biochemical indexes of diabetic ketoacidosis, and summarizes new ideas of forensic medicine diagnosis in diabetic ketoacidosis death.
Autopsy ; Body Fluids/chemistry* ; Diabetic Ketoacidosis/diagnosis* ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans

Estimation of postmortem interval （PMI） is very important for judging the nature of cases, restricting the scope of investigation and suspect, which is always the emphasis and difficulty for forensic pathology. Early postmortem interval is the time between 0 and 24 hours after death. Due to the shorter time after the case occurred, precisely estimating early postmortem interval can help solve crimes, which has important significance in forensic medicine. In recent years, series of advanced methods and technologies are used to estimate the early PMI by the internal and overseas scholars who work in the forensic area. This paper reviews the research progress on fluids biochemistry, supravital reactions, metabolomics, imageology and the degradation rule of genetic material to provide a new idea to the study and application for estimation of early PMI.
Autopsy ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans ; Postmortem Changes ; Time Factors

Forensic autopsy service in a metropolitan area of Korea is well established and optimized for high population density based on high social system and infrastructures. However, forensic autopsy in rural areas in our country might be affected due to their low population density, and inconveniences related to special and temporal limitations as well as cultural and traditional limitation. Therefore, for an advanced and optimized model of forensic autopsy service in rural areas, we performed a retrospective analysis on the profile of forensic autopsy based on the eastern part of our nation for 8 years between 2005 and 2013 and analyzed them by cause of death, manner of death, demographic data, toxicological results, and additional information. Through our study we presented the profile of forensic autopsy practice in rural areas and suggested that it can be affected by such regional characteristics.
Autopsy* ; Cause of Death ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Pathology ; Korea ; Population Density ; Retrospective Studies ; Rural Population