• Ozlem Erel, Serpil Aydın Demirağ, Musa Dirlik, and Gökhan Cingöz.
• Department of Forensic Medicine, Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey. overel@yahoo.com
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2011 Jul 1; 17 (4): 340-3.

BackgroundIn this study, we discuss traumatic lesions as assessed in decomposed bodies.MethodsFrom 1390 autopsies, which were performed by Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine staff during the period 2004-2008, reports of 62 decomposed bodies were searched, and traumatic lesions were found in 19 of them. Features like gender, living conditions, crime scene, identity witness, season, postmortem interval, cause and origin of deaths, and existence of traumatic lesions were investigated.ResultsFrom the 1390 forensic autopsies, 4.5% were decomposed bodies. Male cases accounted for 91.9%, and the male/female ratio was 11.4/1. From reports, 38.7% lived alone, and the crime scene was the home in 57.9%. Traumatic lesions were found in 30.6%. The leading causes of death were cardiac diseases in natural deaths, hanging in suicide cases, stab wounds in homicide cases, and carbon monoxide poisoning in accidents. It was statistically significant that traumatic lesions were common in outdoor cases and indoor bodies were common among single cases.ConclusionAs it is necessary to distinguish traumatic lesions carefully in decomposed bodies, a full examination and autopsy should be performed.

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