Dieulafoy's lesion is a rare condition that may cause intermittent or massive gastrointestinal bleeding. It is characterized by the exteriorization of an arterial vessel into the lumen of the affected organ, generally the upper digestive tract, through an apparently normal mucosa or a small tear or erosion. We report two patients with Dieulafoy's lesions, one in whom the lesion was misdiagnosed as a submucosal tumor and endoscopic biopsy resulted in fatal bleeding.
Autopsy ; Biopsy ; Endoscopy ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Mucous Membrane

Thoracic aortic aneurysms are less common than abdominal aortic aneurysms, however they are life-threatening and usually asymptomatic until acute complications occur. The majority of thoracic aorta aneurysm are associated with medial degeneration rather than atherosclerosis and the fusiform aortic aneurysm is common. Considering that it usually occurs during the sixth and seventh decades of life, its occurrence in a peripartum woman is unusual. Aortic dissection or thoracic aortic aneurysm with aortic insufficiency during pregnancy or peripartum has been reported, however, to our knowledge, the case of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm in peripartum women, with saccular type without aortic valve involvement but not diffuse dilatation, has not been reported. Herein, we presented two autopsy cases of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm during postpartum.
Aneurysm ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Aortic Aneurysm ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; Aortic Valve ; Atherosclerosis ; Autopsy ; Dilatation ; Female ; Humans ; Peripartum Period ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Rupture

Here, we report an autopsy case of an unusual hanging that was misinterpreted as a case of homicidal strangulation, as th body was found on the scene of a house fire. A 29-year-old unmarried woman hanged herself from the gas pipe using a bath towel. Subsequently, the pipe broke and a fire broke out after an explosion. However, as the initial postmortem investigation revealed the absence of cherry-pink lividity and as a burnt bath towel was found around her neck, this case was misunderstood as a case of arson after homicidal strangulation. The cause and manner of death in this case were finally determined based on the autopsy findings of ligature marks that are typically noted in cases of hanging and the presence of a burnt electric lock and a broden gas pipe that were noted at the suicide scene.
Adult ; Autopsy ; Baths ; Explosions ; Female ; Fires* ; Firesetting Behavior ; Humans ; Ligation ; Neck ; Single Person ; Suicide

In the following report, we describe the case of a rapidly skeletonized corpse discovered in late summer. On the first day of September, a 57-year-old man was found almost completely skeletonized on a hill behind his house. His body lay prone, accompanied by a brush cutter at the entrance to the graveyard where his friend's parents were buried. His cap, clothes, and rubber boots were all intact and undamaged. Upon autopsy, no definite abnormalities were identified except for an old linear fracture on the frontoparietal bone. According to his friends and neighbors, he had likely died 8 or 9 days prior to the discovery of his body.
Autopsy ; Cadaver ; Friends ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Parents ; Postmortem Changes ; Rubber ; Skeleton*

Thyrotoxicosis (thyroid crisis) is a known cause of sudden death; however, only a few cases of death resulting from thyrotoxicosis have been reported. Histopathologic examination and postmortem thyroid function tests may be helpful in postmortem diagnosis, but their usefulness seems to be limited. We report three autopsy cases associated with thyrotoxicosis.
Autopsy ; Death, Sudden ; Thyroid Crisis ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyrotoxicosis

From January 2007 to June 2012, 55 autopsy cases were reviewed, in which death occurred outside the hospital and the patients were declared dead on arrival at the emergency departments, in order to compare the clinical and postmortem examination diagnoses of death-on-arrival patients in tertiary hospitals in Busan, Yangsan and Ulsan city. Of 22 non-traumatic deaths, 21 occurred from natural causes and 1 from unknown cause (sudden infant death syndrome, SIDS). Clinical diagnoses were cardiovascular diseases or "non-traumatic" / "unknown" while autopsy diagnoses were majorly cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary artery diseases (72.7%). Of 33 unnatural deaths, the cause of death was blunt trauma in 4 patients, sharp-force injury in 6, falling in 10, gunshot injury in 1, traffic accidents in 3, asphyxia in 2, drowning in 2, fire-related death in 1, and intoxication in 4. There were no definite discrepancies between clinical and autopsy diagnoses, except for 5 non-traumatic deaths and 2 unnatural deaths. These results suggest that the role of the emergency department may be crucial in postmortem investigations.
Accidents, Traffic ; Asphyxia ; Autopsy ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cause of Death ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Drowning ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Infant ; Tertiary Care Centers

Dural metastasis associated with chronic subdural hematoma is very rare in patients with malignant neoplasms; it may be difficult to distinguish malignant neoplasms from chronic subdural hematoma. Chronic subdural hematoma is usually a late manifestation of malignant tumors, which contributes to the severity of the prognosis. The scans obtained by using magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography may be misleading when a subdural hematoma masks the underlying tumor. Herein, we report a case of a subdural hematoma with dural metastasis of unknown origin in a 45-year-old woman; however, the neoplasm was not detected until autopsy.
Adenocarcinoma ; Autopsy* ; Female ; Hematoma, Subdural* ; Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Masks ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis

Necrotizing fasciitis is a life-threating soft tissue infection primarily involving the superficial fascia and usually occurs after surgical treatment, trauma and varicella. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an extremely rare pathogen to cause necrotizing fasciitis and only a few cases have been reported in children. We report an autopsy case of necrotizing fasciitis due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa after vaccination in a 7-monthold boy.

A death due to angle grinder injuries is reported. An angle grinder is a widely used electronic device at a working place or at home. A deceased old man and an angle grinder without a protective guard were found at the living room in his house where he had been renovating. The wound of the victim's head showed an oblique laceration, skull fractures and tearing on the brain, embedded with grinder disk fragments. A small intraparenchymal hematoma was in the midbrain, which could be the cause of the fall leading to the accident. Disreard of the cause of the accident, the absence of a protective guard and removal of one hilt might have contribute to the death of the victim.
Brain ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Head ; Hematoma ; Hypogonadism ; Lacerations ; Mesencephalon ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Skull Fractures

Most sharp force fatalities are attributed to homicide or suicide, with only a few accidental cases reported to date. Broken glass accounts for most of these accidental fatalities. We herein report an unusual accidental death caused by a broken glass cup. A 21-year-old woman was found dead on the floor of her studio apartment. The studio was a duplex consisting of one room and a bathroom, with a stepped drawer leading to the second floor. She was lying face down with her legs spread apart in a large pool of blood, surrounded by many pieces of broken glass. There was an oblique cut measuring 9 cm in length in the right sternocleidomastoid region just above the right clavicle. The surface of the cut wound showed irregular edges and the internal jugular vein was severed in the depth of the wound. She appeared to have fallen down the steps onto the ground floor and been fatally injured in the neck by a piece of broken glass.
Clavicle ; Deception ; Female ; Glass ; Homicide ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Leg ; Neck ; Neck Injuries ; Suicide ; Wounds and Injuries ; Young Adult