Citation

Eyermann C, Farrugia A, Tracqui A, Géraut A, Tortel MC, Cannet C, Charton J, Raul JS. Rev. Med. Leg. 2019; 10(1): 1-7.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.medleg.2018.12.001

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Hyoid bone fractures occur most frequently as a result of direct pressure applied to the cervical region during manual strangulation or hanging. The discovery of this type of fracture during the autopsy of a victim who suffered a high kinetic energy trauma in a road accident or by being crossed-over by a vehicle raises in some cases the following question: can the hyoid bone fracture be secondary to the high velocity traumatism or was it caused by a strangulation preceding the polytrauma in the context of an homicide disguised as accident? The authors illustrate this situation through the clinical case presentation of a young man who has been crossed-over by a motor vehicle, resulting in a serious polytrauma including a comminuted fracture of the skull and facial skeleton together with a thoraco-abdominal traumatism. During the careful dissection of the cervical region, an ecchymotic fracture of the left great horn and a dislocation of the right great horn of the hyoid bone were discovered along with a mandibular fracture and an ecchymotic infiltration of the left sternocleidomastoid muscle. After review the autopsy findings, histological, toxicological and radiological analyses, police investigations and data of the literature, the authors will discuss the mechanism of hyoid bone fracture and the cause and manner of death. © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS

Language: en

Keywords

human; Homicide; homicide; Suicide; male; autopsy; case report; cause of death; traffic accident; hyoid bone; Strangulation; fracture; clinical article; human tissue; motor vehicle; thorax injury; multiple trauma; mandible fracture; abdominal injury; face fracture; sternocleidomastoid muscle; histology; skull fracture; Article; comminuted fracture; radiology; fracture dislocation; dissection; Hyoid bone fracture; Mandibular fracture