CASE REPORTS   

Minerva Medicolegale 2007 June;127(2):159-68

Copyright © 2007 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Surgical resection of the sternum and biological damage. remarks regarding the “analogy criterion”

Manzoni S., Verzeletti A.

Cattedra di Medicina Legale Università degli Studi di Brescia, Brescia

The authors, on the basis of two cases concernig the biological damage evaluation (for a laparocele and for a surgical resection of the sternum), tried to underline the role and validity of the analogy criterion in this evaluation. Considering that both in Italian and foreign “barèmes”, there are no references regarding the loss of sternum, the authors looked for an analogy between the anatomical and functional weakening of the front of the body due to the loss of the sternum and the anatomical and functional weakening of the wall due to a laparocele. The attention focused on the change of the protective and retention function of the wall, present in both cases, considering the differences due to the nature of the anatomical structures involved. The application of the analogy criterion in these cases allowed an objective evaluation of impairements difficult to evaluate.