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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2013; 5(02): 121-123
DOI: 10.4103/0974-2727.119865
Case Report

Can a Postmortem Skin Biopsy Predict Cause of Death?

Deepti Sukheeja
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Janani Shanmugam
Department of Forensic Medicine, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Arulselvi Subramanian
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Sanjeev Lalwani
Department of Forensic Medicine, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
› Author Affiliations Source of Support: Nil.
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ABSTRACT

Electrocution continues to be a major cause of death among workers because they and their employers do not recognize the importance of safety training and implementing safe practices. Part of the reason is that at home and on the job we take electricity for granted. Relying on the benefits of electricity, we may forget its hazards. Death due to electrocution can occur without any marks on body. Skin biopsy of an autopsy case of a male, plumber by occupation, who was brought dead to the hospital, was examined to find out the cause of death. Electrical marks were observed on his palm during autopsy and were supposedly thought to be the cause of death. The histopathology of skin lesion confirmed the diagnosis. We, hereby, report this case as the histopathology in electrocution has rarely been discussed in papers and it can aid in investigations to know the cause of death in unknown cases.

Keywords

Electrocution - postmortem - skin biopsy


Publication History

Article published online:
07 April 2020

© 2013.

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