2. Haemorrhoids leading to Post-Mortem Artefact
2005 ◽
Vol 45
(3)
◽
pp. 265-266
◽
Any change produced, or feature introduced, in a body after death which is accidentally or physiologically unrelated to the natural state of the body is termed as an artefact. Since artefacts may lead to misinterpretation of post-mortem findings, it is important to rule them out. Artefacts may be produced for a variety of reasons. We present a case report where a young male in his late twenties committed suicide by hanging. He was suffering from haemorrhoids. Because of his posture, there was post-mortem bleeding, which was interpreted by the police as bleeding due to the self-cutting of his veins. Hence, we felt the need to report this case.