International journal of legal medicine
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Injuries in the genital region of boys are mostly caused by accidents. In this study, three cases of child abuse and one case suspicious for child abuse but explainable by a congenital undiscovered malformation are presented. Injuries or findings in the genital region are especially suspicious for child abuse, including sexual abuse. Because of the possible misinterpretation and the consequences of a false confirmation of a child abuse, an interdisciplinary cooperation between pediatrics, forensic experts, and pediatric urologist should be carried out in doubtful cases.
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The question of whether instantaneous rigor mortis (IR), the hypothetic sudden occurrence of stiffening of the muscles upon death, actually exists has been controversially debated over the last 150 years. While modern German forensic literature rejects this concept, the contemporary British literature is more willing to embrace it. We present the case of a young woman who suffered from diabetes and who was found dead in an upright standing position with back and shoulders leaned against a punchbag and a cupboard. ⋯ After autopsy and toxicological analysis, it was stated that death most probably occurred due to a ketoacidotic coma with markedly increased values of glucose and lactate in the cerebrospinal fluid as well as acetone in blood and urine. Whereas the position of the body is most unusual, a detailed analysis revealed that it is a stable position even without rigor mortis. Therefore, this case does not further support the controversial concept of IR.