Klysner Anne, Lynnerup Niels, Hougen Hans Petter
Section of Forensic Pathology, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Med Sci Law. 2011 Apr;51(2):102-5. doi: 10.1258/msl.2011.010132.
Some cases of suspected homicidal strangulation are difficult to diagnose if the classical injuries of strangulation are few or lacking. The main purpose of this study was to determine if abnormal distension of alveolar airspaces is present in strangulation deaths and whether or not it can be used to support this diagnosis. Another purpose was to see how often the gross examination of the lungs was in agreement with the microscopic examination. The material comprised 33 victims of homicidal strangulation above the age of 15 years, autopsied at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen between 1998 and 2007. The results were compared with a control group of the same size, matched for gender and age, all of whom died naturally of cerebral or other neurological causes. The autopsy reports provided the results of the gross examination of the lungs. Regular haematoxylin-eosin stained sections were made from the histological specimens. The microscopic examination was performed by computerized image analysis using stereological methods in an attempt to objectify the observations. The results showed an almost complete concordance between the findings of the gross and the microscopic examination. Stereologically the study showed that the alveoli in the strangulation cases were twice the size of those in the control group which was highly statistically significant concluding that abnormal distension of alveolar airspaces.
如果勒颈杀人案的典型损伤较少或不存在，一些疑似勒颈杀人的案例就很难诊断。本研究的主要目的是确定勒颈死亡者是否存在肺泡气腔异常扩张，以及这是否可用于支持该诊断。另一个目的是观察肺部大体检查与显微镜检查的符合程度。研究材料包括33名15岁以上的勒颈杀人案受害者，于1998年至2007年在哥本哈根法医学系进行尸检。将结果与一个规模相同、性别和年龄匹配的对照组进行比较，对照组均为自然死于脑部或其他神经原因。尸检报告提供了肺部大体检查的结果。从组织学标本制作常规苏木精-伊红染色切片。显微镜检查采用体视学方法通过计算机图像分析进行，试图使观察结果客观化。结果显示大体检查和显微镜检查结果几乎完全一致。体视学研究表明，勒颈案例中的肺泡大小是对照组的两倍，具有高度统计学意义，结论是肺泡气腔存在异常扩张。
