Citation

Da Broi U, Moreschi C, Colatutto A, Marcon B, Zago S. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2017; 50: 12-19.

Affiliation

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Pathology, S. Maria Misericordia General Hospital, Udine, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jflm.2017.06.002

PMID

28662415

Abstract

Metallic mercury may be self-injected for suicidal or self-harm purposes or sometimes for superstitious or other inadvisable reasons. Local tissue or systemic consequences such as mercurialism can frequently occur in cases of subcutaneous or deep injection, while death due to pulmonary embolism and cardiac, brain, hepatic or renal toxicity may occur in cases of high dosage intravenous administration. The aim of this review is to focus on the diagnostic difficulties facing coroners and forensic pathologists when the courts require confirmation that evidence of self-injection of metallic mercury is the result of suicide or self-harming. Forensic examination performed on the corpses of victims who died in or out of hospital or on surviving injured or intoxicated victims showing signs of mercurialism, demands the careful evaluation of the death scene, of all related circumstances and of the clinical and autopsy data. Close interaction between forensic pathologists and toxicologists is also needed to identify and quantify mercury levels in blood, urine and tissue.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Lethal intoxication; Metallic mercury; Suicidal injection