Forensic Pathology of Fractures and Mechanisms of Injury: Postmortem CT Scanning

Practitioners of forensic medicine have various tools at their disposal to determine cause of death, and today’s computed tomography (CT) can provide valuable clues if images are interpreted properly. Forensic Pathology of Fractures and Mechanisms of Injury: Postmortem CT Scanning is a guide for the forensic pathologist who wants to use CT imaging to assist in determining the mechanism of injury that might have contributed to death.

Drawn from the author’s work at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, the book presents an overview of his experience with CT in routine casework, provides an appraisal of the literature with respect to fractures, and offers suggestions for the evaluation of CT images by pathologists. He then suggests what reasonable conclusions can be drawn from the images, the circumstances surrounding the death, and an external examination of the deceased.

Enhanced with hundreds of CT images that clarify the text and case studies to put the material in context, the book begins by discussing classification of injuries and different types of fractures. It then explores the basics of CT. Next, the book gives a head-to-toe catalogue of various injuries and how they are represented on a CT scan. Finally, the book explores the use of CT in difficult forensic cases such as decomposed and burnt remains, falls, child abuse, and transportation incidents.

While not intended to make a forensic pathologist an expert at CT image interpretation, the book enables these professionals to become familiar with the technology so they can competently use it in their practice, heightening the accuracy of their cause of death determinations.