Forensic Pathology Reviews: Volume 1

Abstract

Edited by Michael Tsokos, 353 pp, with tables and illus, Totowa, NJ, Humana Press, 2004.This is the first in a review series of forensic pathology, starting with the premise that “over the last decade, the field of forensic science has expanded enormously, with the rapid emergence of new autopsy and laboratory techniques, and the identification of many new markers for specific pathological conditions.” This book is a good start in attempting to define these recent forensic pathology advances.The first chapter is a review of burned bodies, with black-and-white photographs that show charring with “puppet organs” and tables that compare grading schemes for thermal injury. Chapter 2 reviews the blunt force trauma experience in Germany from “stomping” and assault. Chapter 3 deals with timing of traumatic brain injury through immunohistochemical analysis. New to me was the extensive text and tables that summarize all the markers and the earliest and average times they are found after injury. Chapter 4 reviews the effects of drug abuse on the central nervous system, with 31 pages of 505 references. Chapter 5 is an up-to-date review of sudden cardiac death, and chapters 6 and 7 deal with the problems and pitfalls of neonaticide and sudden infant death syndrome, respectively.Chapters 8 and 9 review rare fatalities from Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome. Chapter 10 is a review of autoerotic deaths, with the history of the practice the most informative. The chapter on hypothermic deaths concentrates on the pitfall of misdiagnosing paradoxical undressing as homicide and the process of crawling into enclosed spaces during hypothermia called the hide and die syndrome, which is believed to be related to a hibernation reflex. The text, photographs, and concise tables in the review of maternal death from HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) are excellent.The most encyclopedic chapter is the review of the forensic aspects of postmortem alcohol interpretation, with all the biochemical calculations, pitfalls, and strengths in interpreting alcohol values thoroughly discussed. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation injuries are also reviewed. The last chapter on iliopsoas muscle hemorrhage deals with this rare autopsy finding, most likely related to sepsis, DIC, or trauma.Generally, the references at the end of the chapters are extensive, but unfortunately many to most in each chapter are in German. This reflects the different perspectives of the European practice environment of the editor and his mainly German coauthors. Some authors also seem to place a heavy emphasis on microscopic studies over the gross findings, which is different from the American forensic pathologist. I appreciated the summary sections at the end of each chapter. Forensic pathology is a visual discipline, and more photographs in the subsequent volumes would be beneficial.Finally, this volume contains timely, comprehensive reviews for the selected specialized topics. Although these reviews do not define many new advances in forensic pathology techniques or practices, this may reflect the field of forensic pathology itself rather that any deficit of the authors. I would recommend the first book in this series to the practicing forensic pathologist who wishes to fill in some gaps of the standard forensic pathology texts or as a starting point to begin to master the art of traumatic forensic neuroimmunohistochemistry.