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Vignali G, Franceschetti L, Attisano GCL, Cattaneo C. Assessing wound vitality in decomposed bodies: a review of the literature. Int J Legal Med 2023; 137:459-470. [PMID: 36550324 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-022-02932-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The capability of discriminating between a vital and a post-mortem injury has always been a central theme in forensic pathology, particularly when the corpse is an advanced state of decomposition. Post-mortem decay of the body can mask or disrupt the classical features of a skin lesion, making it difficult to establish the cause and manner of death. Taphonomically challenging situations pose several interpretative issues of skin lesions which need to be addressed with scientifically recent methods that are still limited in the forensic literature. For that reason, the present research aims at resuming what is currently available in the attempt to provide some insight regarding this topic. This review considers only original researches, in which the markers of vitality were studied a significant amount of time after death, in order to test post-mortem persistency of these markers over time. A number of 132 original articles and reviews were considered, and the most significant results are resumed in an overview table and in two intuitive figures. Though many researchers tried to establish the vitality of lesions in specimen, few analysed samples from bodies when a significant degree of putrefaction or burning had occurred. The most significant marker proved to be GPA, which sowed a satisfying persistence over time (up to 6 months in air putrefaction and 15 days in water). However, what clearly emerged is that further studies are needed to address the challenges of taphonomically transformed specimen and to possibly neutralize the variability of experimental conditions, which affect the reproducibility of results. In conclusion, this study could be a starting point for providing food for thoughts about the most useful markers to search for in unusually tricky autopsy cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Vignali
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
| | - Lorenzo Franceschetti
- LABANOF (Laboratorio Di Antropologia E Odontologia Forense), Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Carlo Lanza Attisano
- LABANOF (Laboratorio Di Antropologia E Odontologia Forense), Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Cristina Cattaneo
- LABANOF (Laboratorio Di Antropologia E Odontologia Forense), Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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Maiese A, Manetti AC, Iacoponi N, Mezzetti E, Turillazzi E, Di Paolo M, La Russa R, Frati P, Fineschi V. State-of-the-Art on Wound Vitality Evaluation: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:6881. [PMID: 35805886 PMCID: PMC9266385 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23136881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The vitality demonstration refers to determining if an injury has been caused ante- or post-mortem, while wound age means to evaluate how long a subject has survived after the infliction of an injury. Histology alone is not enough to prove the vitality of a lesion. Recently, immunohistochemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology have been introduced in the field of lesions vitality and age demonstration. The study was conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic review (PRISMA) protocol. The search terms were "wound", "lesion", "vitality", "evaluation", "immunohistochemistry", "proteins", "electrolytes", "mRNAs", and "miRNAs" in the title, abstract, and keywords. This evaluation left 137 scientific papers. This review aimed to collect all the knowledge on vital wound demonstration and provide a temporal distribution of the methods currently available, in order to determine the age of lesions, thus helping forensic pathologists in finding a way through the tangled jungle of wound vitality evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aniello Maiese
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.M.); (A.C.M.); (N.I.); (E.M.); (E.T.); (M.D.P.)
| | - Alice Chiara Manetti
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.M.); (A.C.M.); (N.I.); (E.M.); (E.T.); (M.D.P.)
| | - Naomi Iacoponi
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.M.); (A.C.M.); (N.I.); (E.M.); (E.T.); (M.D.P.)
| | - Eleonora Mezzetti
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.M.); (A.C.M.); (N.I.); (E.M.); (E.T.); (M.D.P.)
| | - Emanuela Turillazzi
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.M.); (A.C.M.); (N.I.); (E.M.); (E.T.); (M.D.P.)
| | - Marco Di Paolo
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.M.); (A.C.M.); (N.I.); (E.M.); (E.T.); (M.D.P.)
| | - Raffaele La Russa
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy;
| | - Paola Frati
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Vittorio Fineschi
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy;
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Vitali M, Conte S, Lessard M, Deschêne K, Benoit-Biancamano M, Celeste C, Martelli G, Sardi L, Guay F, Faucitano L. Use of the spectrophotometric color method for the determination of the age of skin lesions on the pig carcass and its relationship with gene expression and histological and histochemical parameters1. J Anim Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.2527/jas.2017.1813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Cattaneo C, Maderna E, Rendinelli A, Gibelli D. Animal experimentation in forensic sciences: How far have we come? Forensic Sci Int 2015. [PMID: 26216717 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.06.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In the third millennium where ethical, ethological and cultural evolution seem to be leading more and more towards an inter-species society, the issue of animal experimentation is a moral dilemma. Speaking from a self-interested human perspective, avoiding all animal testing where human disease and therapy are concerned may be very difficult or even impossible; such testing may not be so easily justifiable when suffering-or killing-of non human animals is inflicted for forensic research. In order to verify how forensic scientists are evolving in this ethical issue, we undertook a systematic review of the current literature. We investigated the frequency of animal experimentation in forensic studies in the past 15 years and trends in publication in the main forensic science journals. Types of species, lesions inflicted, manner of sedation or anesthesia and euthanasia were examined in a total of 404 articles reviewed, among which 279 (69.1%) concerned studies involving animals sacrificed exclusively for the sake of the experiment. Killing still frequently includes painful methods such as blunt trauma, electrocution, mechanical asphyxia, hypothermia, and even exsanguination; of all these animals, apparently only 60.8% were anesthetized. The most recent call for a severe reduction if not a total halt to the use of animals in forensic sciences was made by Bernard Knight in 1992. In fact the principle of reduction and replacement, frequently respected in clinical research, must be considered the basis for forensic science research needing animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Cattaneo
- LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense Sezione di Medicina Legale Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute Università degli Studi di Milano, V. Mangiagalli 37, 20133 Milan, Italy.
| | - E Maderna
- LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense Sezione di Medicina Legale Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute Università degli Studi di Milano, V. Mangiagalli 37, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - A Rendinelli
- LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense Sezione di Medicina Legale Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute Università degli Studi di Milano, V. Mangiagalli 37, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - D Gibelli
- LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense Sezione di Medicina Legale Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute Università degli Studi di Milano, V. Mangiagalli 37, 20133 Milan, Italy
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Gondim RM, Vieira VC, Veras MM, Ferreira MA, Caldini ÉTEG, Muñoz DR, Baptista MS. Protoporphyrin fluorescence induced by methyl–ALA in skin healing. Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther 2013; 10:389-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2013.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2012] [Revised: 05/14/2013] [Accepted: 05/19/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Abstract
Studies of bruises, as detected on carcasses at the slaughterhouse, may provide useful information about the traumatic situations the animals endure during the pre-slaughter period. In this paper, we review scientific data on the prevalence, risk factors and estimation of the age of bruises in beef cattle. Risk factors such as animal characteristics, transport conditions, stocking density, livestock auction and handling of the animals are discussed. Investigation of the age of bruises could provide information on when in the meat chain bruises occur and, could help to pinpoint where preventive measures should be taken, from the stage of collecting the animals on the farm until slaughter. We review the methods available to assess the age of the bruises; data on human forensic research are also included. The feasibility to identify traumatic episodes during the pre-slaughter period, in order to improve animal welfare is discussed.
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Cecchi R. Estimating wound age: looking into the future. Int J Legal Med 2010; 124:523-36. [DOI: 10.1007/s00414-010-0505-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2010] [Accepted: 08/10/2010] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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The science behind the quest to determine the age of bruises—a review of the English language literature. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2007; 3:241-51. [DOI: 10.1007/s12024-007-9019-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Nakajima T, Hayakawa M, Yajima D, Motani-Saitoh H, Sato Y, Kiuchi M, Ichinose M, Iwase H. Time-course changes in the expression of heme oxygenase-1 in human subcutaneous hemorrhage. Forensic Sci Int 2006; 158:157-63. [PMID: 16039813 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2005.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2004] [Accepted: 05/19/2005] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
To determine the time-course of human subcutaneous hemorrhage, heme oxygenase (HO)-1 expression and macrophage infiltration were observed using an immunohistochemical technique and semiquantitative analysis. The number of immunoreactive cells and the number of all infiltrating cells of each microscopic field were counted, and the ratio of the former to the latter was calculated as the positive cells ratio. An increase in the HO-1-positive cells ratio was observed starting at 3 h after injury, and the maximum ratio was observed 3 days after injury. The pattern of the increase in the macrophage ratio was similar to that of the HO-1-positive cells ratio in the early period after injury. Observation of serial sections revealed that the expression of HO-1 in the cells corresponded to the localization of macrophage. The present results suggest that the determination of HO-1 expression, as derived from macrophages, might be useful for the estimation of the time-course of subcutaneous hemorrhage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toru Nakajima
- Department of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Inohana 1-8-1, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
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