Iranian Journal of Forensic Medicine
Year:2009 | Volume:14 | Issue:4 (52)|Papers Count:12

Background & Aim: The identity of dead is an essential part of post-mortem examination. Estimation of age is one of the important factors that help identification. The identification of unknown human remnants begins with the creation of an anthropological profile, which includes sex, biological age, stature and individualizing features. The aim of this study was investigation the closure time of synchondrosis to corroborate as an indicator of biological age especially in Iranian females.Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive cross sectional study. Closure time among Iranian 8 to 26 years old females cadavers with direct inspection during autopsy was evaluated Data were analyzed by SPSS 11.5 software. Findings: During 2006-7, 50 cases studied. Closed position was found in 10% of cases; while 90% of cases had opened were situation. Semi closed situation wasn’t seen in any cases. Mean age of open and closed were 8.8 (+/- 1.30), 19.66 (+/-3.7), respectively. The range of age in open situation was (8-11) years old All of cases with complete fusion (closed) were 13 years or above. Conclusion: Our results showed that closure of spheno occipital suture can be used as a good indicator for age estimation in females. Females with estimated age of 8-26 years with complete fusion (closed) and no fusion should be in age of (7.5-14.1) and (13.24-26) .years old respectively (with 95% confidence interval). Other parameters like radiography, epiphysis situation and dent is must be evaluated to improve the accuracy.

Background & Aim: Nowadays, accidents are the second leading cause of deaths in some Societies, and traffic accidents account a great proportion of them. The ongiong report is aimed to determine some accident effecting factors that cause wounds and casualties on the roads ending in Mashhad.Materials & Methods: This is a case-controle study. Drivers involved in car accident son the roads ending in Mashhad and having physical injuries were the cases, and those with no injury were the controls. Variables of driver s age and sex, fastening seat belt, burn, being trapped, and being thrown out of the car, use of music, cell phone and cigarette on accident time, and also direction of strike, time of accident, smoking, and car modernity were assessed and compared between the two groups.Findings: 90% and 93% of the cases and the controle groups agreed or were able to interview. 16.2% of cases and 23.4% of controles were female and the distribution of male among the cases and the controles were 83.8% and 76.6% respectively (p> 0.05). The average age of the cases and controles were 35.3±10.5 and 39.4±9.8 years respectively (p<0.001). Use of seat belt was protective measure and significantly higher in controles (OR = 0.44). Burn on accident time was 21%among cases and 1.3% in controls (p<0.001). Being trapped in and/or thrown out of the car on accident time were significantly more in the cases (p<0.002). Occlusion: Fastening seat belt can minimize the effects of car accidents and prevent wounds and casualties. Driver s low age can be an important risk factor on road accidents that can be minimized through proper media teachings.

Background &Aim: In order to improve the health in a society, the specific policies based on statistical information and health indices must be introduced. On the other hand to increase the life expectancy and to decline the death number within different ages, we have to have enough information about the main causes of death. In this paper we study the death from the main group of unintentional accidents and injuries and poisoning in Khuzestan province. Material & Methods: This was a descriptive and cross sectional study. The studied population consisted of all death causes from different unintentional accidents and injuries and poisoning which have been reported to the Khuzestan Legal Medicine Center or Jundishapour University of Medical Sciences, during years 2001-2005. The information of 12895 reported deaths was gathered and entered into the SPSS software. The crude death rates, cause, age and sex specific death rates and years of life lost due to fourteen accidental causes of death in Khuzestan within 5 years period was determined. Findings: The crude death rates due to different accidents and injuries in Khuzestan province during years 2001- 2005 were 48.21, 54.91, 61.13, 69.42 and 71.66 per 100000 populations, respectively. During the period of study, transport accidents, accidental exposure to smoke, fire and flames and drowned in water were the main causes of death, respectively, and the total years life lost were 56407, 65188, 72200, 84378 and 86336, respectively. The average growth of year life lost within 5 years was 11.08. Finally, the years of life lost of men in this period were 2.83, 3.23, 3.21,3.45 and 3.62 times more than women, respectively.Conclusion: Because of the 11%growth rate due to transport accident during the period of study, more than 30.6% of death from accidental exposure to smoke, fire and flames within women and 50.2% within women aged between 15- 25, the immediate action is needed to establish the main reasons of death from the above mentioned causes.

Background & Aim: Nowadays, human resources as a productive engine of economics play an important role. Occupational accidents as a one of the most important problem lead to loss of labor force and time wasting. The goal of this study was to assess some risk factors of occupational accidents and demographic characteristic of cases.Materials & Methods: 482 cases that for the first time referred to Clinical Examination Unit of Tehran and Shahre- Ray Legal Medicine Centers were studied through a questionnaire.Findings: %95.6 of 482 cases was male and %4.4 of them was female. %59.8 of cases was younger than 30 years old and others were older than 30 years old. %94.8 of cases was Iranian and %5.2 of them were Afghani. %64.9 of cases had guidance school or lower grade. %90.3 of cases' income was lower than 4000000 Rials per month. %46.5 of cases worked more than 48 hours per week. % 87.1 of cases had no technical education about their jobs. %53.7 of cases experienced trauma in upper limbs. %16.7 (the lowest percent) of occupational accidents occurred in Saturday (1.6 standard error & 13.5-19.9 confidence interval). Conclusion: High education level and passing technical education about job are effective in reduction of occupational accidents. Also, working more than standard job hours increase probability of occupational accidents. Upper limbs were exposed to injuries of occupational accidents more than other part of limbs.

Background & Aim: Wife-battering as a socia- cultural difficult would be seen in all of communities. In spite of emphasis to prevention of appearing, because of religious , civil &cultural impediment, serious proceeding to this subject be abstained. The aim of the investigation was study of factors corresponding in wife battering & incidence of physical, verbal & sexual kinds.Materials & Methods: This investigation at first was done in a traumatology center in our country about battered women. Questionnaire has completed at informed satisfaction & observance of medical ethic principal by physicion or expert nurse in 76 battered women (31 cases abstained to interview). This Study was done cross- sectional in six months of the first-half of 2002.Findings: The women were aged between 25 and 34 years. 93% of the women experienced bodily injuries, 88% verbal abuse and 8% sexual abuse. Head and facial injuries were seen in 47% of the women. 88% of battered woman were housekeepers. 20% of husbands were unemployed. 12.5% of the husbands abused alcohol and 35% were dependent on opium.Conclusion: Complete and wider protection of women with pre-marriage ethical, social & sexual skill teaching and levying of a clear law is necessary for the prevention of this indecent phenomena.

Background & Aim: Physicians and nurses can play an important role in the detection of domestic violence. This study examines their viewpoints regarding this problem.Materials & Method: This study was done in Kerman and 584 physicians and nurses participated in this study.Questionnaire items were generated though a review of the literature descriptive statistics and chi-square test was used to examine the association between variables. Statistical significance was taken at the 5% level (p<0/05). Findings: Despite, low level of knowledge regarding risk factors, the respondents was agreed that screening is a professional duty. Profession and attitude had meaningful relation and in most cases nurses had more positive attitude toward misbehavior. The most education was in internists and gynecologist had the least .30% of respondents worried about loss of their patients and had not comfortable for domestic violence screening.Conclusion: Health care worker education alone is in itself however a necessary but insufficient and training about domestic violence ideally this would be formally integrated in to the general medical or nursing curriculum.

Introduction: Trichotillomania is one of impulse control disorder that the person will pull out his or her hair repetitively that can cause an obvious hair loss. Trichotillomania can be considered as either obsessive compulsive disorder or self mutilation behaviors.Case Report: In this report a young female who suffers from tricotillomania not only she pulls her own hair but also pulls her 9 years old son's hair so that cause plucking of scalp hair. This is in a way that her son who suffered from hair loss and got functional difficulties in education and interpersonal relationship.Discussion: To our best knowledge till now there is no report from anyone else who suffers tricotillomania, so this case can be considered as a variant of Utricotillomania u. In this case reported, she had been a victim of sexual abuse and childhood trauma. Also there were some difficulties in her current sexual relationship which can had an effect in this kind of illness.

Introduction: postpartum psychosis is a rare event which intensely affects mother's ability and activity and in severe cases may increase the probability (of commitment) of suicide or infanticide. This article has attempted to discuss psychological viewpoints toward maternal infanticide and legislative reactions to this case. It has emphasized on presenting ways for making advantage of psychiatric notions in judicial context.Discussion: In spite of diversity in judicial system's reactions of different countries, in criminal law of most countries a legitimate excuse is considered for infanticide because of postpartum mental illness. Since in Iranian criminal law in legal cases -like other countries-the term" insanity" is used in substitution of "psychosis" which is a medical term; there is no sign of postpartum and mitigation circumstances for mothers committing infanticide because of postpartum mental illness.Conclusion: The absence of formal DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for postpartum psychiatric disorders promotes disparate treatment under the law toward the women who committed murder because of such illness. Legal psychological society should present methods to distinguish postpartum mental illness & expand the knowledge in context of psychology and law so that decisions about criminal liability of those suffering mental illnesses not to be made exclusively by judicial system.