Mummified Dead Body in Hanging Position: A Case Report

Mummification refers to all-natural and artificial processes that bring about the preservation of the body or its parts. Such processes include mainly the drying of the soft tissues instead of liquefying putrefaction. We are presenting here a case of a medicolegal autopsy performed at the mortuary of MGIMS, Sevagram. The body was found in the jungle in a hanging position to the branch of a tree. Body was completely mummified. Facial identification could be made out as facial features were well maintained. Investigation agency has query regarding condition of the body (mummification) and what is the time since death. After performing the autopsy, police were explained regarding the factors responsible for mummification to occur in the dead body and also given opinion regarding time since death. From the time since death police investigated the various missing complaints which were present at neighboring police stations during that period. So the relatives from one of the missing person identified the body and it was handed over to relative after completion of all legal formalities by the police officials. In this case report we have discussed; autopsy finding in mummified body and factors responsible for formation mummification of the body. Hot, dry and airy environment are well known factors contributing the mummification of body but apart from this hanging of the body along with other contributing factors mentioned earlier is responsible for mummification of the body in present case.

“The Rhythm of Cancer” – Unexpected Autopsy Finding in a Patient with Gastric Ulceration

Malignant tumors of the heart are rare. Even rarer, however, are metastases to the heart from cancers originating from the gastrointestinal tract. This case report involves a 63-year-old patient who presented into the clinic with a gastric ulcer and subsequent haemorrhage, and who died after sudden cardiac arrest. Autopsy revealed a metastatic involvement of the heart muscle from low-grade carcinoma of the stomach, as well as many other organ metastases.

Myocardial bridging — Rare autopsy finding and its association to sudden natural cardiac death

Myocardial Bridging is one rare congenital anomaly which has been neither reported frequently nor looked for during routine autopsy in Indian context. One of the reasons may be lack of awareness about this finding. Even many autopsy studies done on sudden natural cardiac deaths, do not focus to find and report this anomaly. We hereby report one such case, where a young adult male succumbed to death following exercise, and only significant autopsy finding was Myocardial bridging. Even though myocardial bridging has not been labelled as primary cause of death by researchers, it is one such anomaly which leads to events predisposing angina, ischemia and arrhythmia leading to cardiac arrest.

Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma masquerading as pulmonary tuberculosis: incidental autopsy finding

Pleomorphic carcinoma is a very rare subtype of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma. It is an aggressive primary lung carcinoma that accounts for about <0.4% of lung tumors. The tumor usually recurs, resulting in a poor prognosis even after complete resection. Herein, we report an extremely rare case of an advanced pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung which was incidentally detected on autopsy as pulmonary tuberculosis. This patient did not have any clinical manifestations of either malignancy or tuberculosis when he was alive. This is extremely rare, being it an aggressive carcinoma that presents without any apparent symptoms.