著者

小松崎 茂

出版者

昭和大学学士会

雑誌

昭和医学会雑誌 (ISSN:00374342)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.21, no.2, pp.195-204, 1961-05-28 (Released:2010-09-09)

参考文献数

15

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Accidental deaths due to the compression of the chest by blunt onjects or by the burying in sand or soil are encountered not infrequently, but as it is extremely rare to employ them as the means of killing, descriptions on the traumatic asphyxia in the text books of legal medicine are rather simple.Employing the corpses of traumatic asphyxia (caused by the compression of the chest) occurred in the past decade in Tokyo, a statistic observation was made on the relationship of the mechanism of the assaulting objects causing the compression and the findings of corpses, and at the same time considerations were given on each case of the corpses. Stated in the following are the results obtained thereof:1. The action of assaulting objects in traumatic asphyxia can be classified into two major groups of one two-dimentional compression (pinned under the object) and multi-dimentional compression (buried in the sand) . Dermal congestion caused by pressure, in the case of two-dimentional compression, appears on the sides which do not receive oppression.2. The most important finding for knowing the mechanism of the assaulting object in the case of the corpse died of two-dimentional compression is the dermal congestion caused by pressure. In many occasions, the dermal congestion can tell the position of the person at the time of receiving the fatal blow.3. In the case of multi-dimentional compression, it is impossible in many cases to judge the position at the time of the fatal blow, but if there is a gradual spread of the oppression, the portion of the skin received retard oppression and that received no oppression can be knows by the changes in dermal congestion caused by pressure.4. In the case of traumatic asphyxia and when there is an elapse of several, hours before the removal of the external oppression, the portion of the skin free from immediate oppression develops post mortem bulla caused by pressure.5. As for the histological findings of the visceral organs, they are the changes of sudden death (including suffocation) characterized by congestion and edema. Especially, the changes caused by anoxia owing to the acute circulatory disturbance are remarkable in the brain, cardiac muscles, liver, kidney and skeletal muscles. Emigration of eosinophiles in the spleen, moreover, and localized disappearance of adrenal lypoid are considered as the reactions against the stress.6. In the case of deaths caused by thoracicoabdominal oppression and when the fatal trauma is not known by external appearance and when it is known to be the visceral trauma on autopsy, they are mostly the cases of heaptic rupture.