Medicolegal application of a simple histopathological analysis

Abstract

Aim: We aimed this study to highlight the role of histopathological analysis (HPA) using Hemalaun-eosin (H&E) staining technique in forensic medical practice. Methods: This is a retrospective study of autopsies performed at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Criminology, School of Medicine in Rijeka in the period from year 2000 to 2014. We reviewed our data for the natural or a violent death, and whether natural death was of cardiac origin, we reviewed the number of deaths due to ischemic heart disease (IHD) and myocardial infarction (MI). Results: during the fifteen years, the relationship between violent and natural death did not changed significantly (p=0.052) and during this period the number of autopsies remained relatively constant. There has been an increase of natural in relation to the violent deaths since 2010. In natural deaths, cardiac death is the leading cause of death, and the proportion of deaths due to IBS in total cardiac deaths was 87%. Of the total deaths caused by IBS, in the conducted research IM is represented by 21%. Conclusion: HPA is indispensable to sudden cardiac death (SCD). This is a test that helps whenever the autopsy alone cannot bring out the real cause of death; this assessment allows visualization of the infarction-affected cardiac muscle within 24 hours (what cannot be observed macroscopically), and the results could help eliminate doubt in legal proceedings. It represents a material that can be used to check for a long time after the death, for scientific research and education.