REVIEW   

Minerva Forensic Medicine 2021 March;141(1):13-8

DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8922.21.01804-6

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Historical case analysis and review of the literature about sharp force injuries of the neck: homicidal or suicidal throat-cutting?

Alessio BATTISTINI ✉, Michelangelo CASALI, Sara DEL SORDO, Stefano TAMBUZZI, Umberto GENOVESE, Isabella MERZAGORA

Section of Legal Medicine and Insurance, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

The Institute of Legal Medicine of the University of Milan has the largest necroscopic archive in Italy, composed of over 100,000 autoptic reports since 1925. The authors reported a case of a 40-year-old pregnant woman who died 90 years ago for throat-cutting and they use it as an opportunity to perform a review of sharp force injuries of the neck. The purpose is to show that making a clear distinction between homicidal and suicidal throat-cutting is nowadays as challenging as it was 90 years ago.

KEY WORDS: Pharynx; Neck injuries; Homicide; Suicide; Forensic pathology