Abstract

A LITERATURE REVIEW ON AUTOPSY - POST MORTEM EXAMINATION FINDINGS IN ELECTROCUTION

Dr. Chetankumar Suresh Patil*

ABSTRACT

Electrocution is a death caused by an application of electrical current to the human body. Postmortem examination is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present. Deaths due to electrocution occur when there has been passage of an electric current through the body. Lethal mechanisms may involve the heart with ventricular fibrillation, or the respiratory muscles or brainstem respiratory centres with respiratory paralysis/cessation. The size of the current that flows through the body is directly dependent on the potential difference of the circuit and the resistance of the tissues. The majority of deaths are accidental, with suicides being less common and homicides being very rare. Problems arising in the evaluation of cases include situations where electrocution has clearly occurred from the scene findings, but no injuries are detectable at autopsy, or when electrical burns are found at autopsy with no defective equipment/circuitry identified at the death scene.

Keywords: has clearly occurred from the scene findings, but no injuries are detectable at autopsy, or when electrical burns are found at autopsy with no defective equipment/circuitry identified at the death scene.