• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.211-218
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• 2014

Purpose: This research was designed to investigate the effects of forensic education and autopsy attitude of nursing students. Methods: Data on autopsy attitude were determined and collected by means of a self-reporting questionnaire including 14 questions on perception of a need for an autopsy and 11 questions on resistance to autopsy, the respondents being 846 nursing students. The collected data were analyzed by means of an independent t-test with one-way ANOVA in an SPSS WIn 18.0 program. Results: The perception of a need for an autopsy was 4.06 on average and resistance to autopsy was 2.64 on average. The nursing students taking a forensic course showed a relatively higher level of perception of the need for an autopsy (t=-5.63, p <.001) than those not attending such a course (t=2.93, p <.001). Perception of the need for an autopsy and resistance to autopsy show a negative correlation (r=-.382, p=.003). Conclusion: A forensic medicine course raises the level of perception of the need for an autopsy by nursing students and reduces the level of resistance to autopsy.

• 대한임상독성학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.101-106
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• 2017

Purpose: This study examined the patterns of drugs, poisons, and chemicals detected in autopsy samples performed in the Seoul Institute and other regional forensic offices of the National Forensic Service (NFS) between 2014 and 2016. Methods: The investigation carried out using the laboratory information management system. Forensic toxicological identification and quantitation were performed in autopsy samples, including heart blood, peripheral blood, liver, kidney, vitreous humor and etc. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were used to analyze the drugs and poisons. Results: Forensic autopsies were performed on 9,674 cases in this period. Based on the autopsy reports, 699 cases (7.2%) were considered as unnatural deaths caused by fatal intoxication. The number of male deaths was higher than that of female deaths, with the age of 50-59 being the most common age group. Conclusion: Drugs comprised the largest number of deaths due to poison, followed by alcohol, agrochemicals, drug with alcohol, carbon monoxide, and cyanide, in that order. Zolpidem was the most frequently used drug in all drug-related intoxication cases.

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.153-158
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• 2018

Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of human infections, and it is also a commensal that colonizes the nose, axillae, vagina, throat, or skin surfaces. S. aureus has increasingly been recognized as a cause of severe invasive illness, and individuals colonized with this pathogen are subsequently at increased risk of its infections. S. aureus infection is a major cause of skin, soft tissue, respiratory, bone, joint, and endovascular disorders, and staphylococcal bacteremia may cause abscess, endocarditis, pneumonia, metastatic infection, foreign body infection, or sepsis. The authors describe a case of a fisherman who died of sepsis on a fishing boat during sailing out for fish. The autopsy shows paravertebral abscess, pus in the pericardial sac, infective endocarditis with vegetation on the aortic valve cusp, myocarditis, pneumonia and nephritis with bacterial colonization, and also liver cirrhosis and multiple gastric ulcerations.

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.164-167
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• 2018

Aspergillus infection is the most common cause of death due to fungi in immunocompromised hosts. Aspergillus tracheobronchitis is an uncommon but severe form of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, which is limited entirely or mainly to the tracheobronchial tree and can often be life-threatening. We report a case of a 54-year-old man who died from Aspergillus tracheobronchitis without an underlying disease. Autopsy revealed an extensive yellowish plaque adhering to the trachea and bronchial wall. The microscopic examination of the trachea and bronchus revealed septate branching hyphae of Aspergillus.

• 대한수사과학회지
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.30-49
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• 2007

부검은 검안만으로 사인 또는 사망의 종류를 확인할 수 없는 경우 시체를 해부하여 이를 확인하는 검시(檢屍)방법이다. 본 연구자는 대학병원 직원들의 부검에 대한 인식도를 알아보기 위해 설문지를 이용하여 2007년 4월 2일부터 5월 4일까지 1개월간 대구광역시 영남대학교의료원의 직원들을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였다. 전체 286 명 중 남자가 121 명(42.3%), 여자가 165 명(57.7%)이었으며, 의사 57 명(19.9%), 간호사 71 명(24.8%), 의료기술직 83 명(29.0%), 행정사무직 58 명(20.3%), 기타 직종 17 명(5.9%)이었다.대상자들의 설문조사를 살펴보면 부검에 대한 교육정도에서 의사는 2회 이상이 61.4%인데, 간호사는 1.4%, 의료기술직은 15.7%, 행정사무직은 1.7%, 기타 직종은 5.9%로 의사들에 비해 교육정도가 많이 부족하였다. 본인이나 가족이 갑자기 쓰러져 사망했을 때 부검을 의뢰하겠는가라는 질문에 의사는 의뢰한다가 59.6%로 높았으나, 간호사는 22.5%, 의료기술직은 39.8%, 행정사무직은 41.4%, 기타 직종은 35.3%로 낮게 나타났다. 직장 동료가 근무 중 갑자기 쓰러져 사망한 경우 부검을 해야 한다고 생각하는가라는 질문에서도 의사는 그렇다가 66.7%로 높았으나, 간호사는 33.8%, 의료기술직은 39.8%, 행정사무직은 43.1%, 기타 직종은 17.6%로 낮게 나타났다. 병원내 환자가 병사했을 때 부검을 해야 한다고 생각하는가라는 질문에서도 의사는 그렇다가 50.9%, 간호사는 8.5%, 의료기술직은 19.3%, 행정사무직은 24.1%, 기타 직종은 17.6%로 낮게 나타났다. 부검은 어떤 곳에서 해야 하는가라는 질문에 의사는 의과대학 법의학교실이 73.7%로 가장 높았고, 다른 직종에서는 국립과학수사연구소가 가장 높게 나타났는데, 간호사는 62.0% 의료기술직은 59.0%, 행정사무직은 46.6%, 기타 직종은 58.8%이었다. 부검의 주체는 모든 직종에서 대부분의 대상자들이 전문 법의병리의사가 되어야 한다고 생각하는 것으로 나타났는데, 의사는 98.2%, 간호사는 94.4%, 의료 기술직은 96.4%, 행정사무직은 89.7%, 기타 직종은 88.2%이었다. 평소 부검의 필요성은 의사는 73.7%, 간호사는 23.9%, 의료기술직은 47.0%, 행정사무직은 34.5%, 기타 직종은 23.5%로 의사들이 평소 부검의 필요성을 많이 느끼는 것으로 나타났다. 사후 본인의 사체를 의과대학이나 연구기관 등에 기증할 용의가 있는가라는 질문에 의사는 22.8%, 간호사는 11.3%, 의료기술직은 24.1%, 행정사무직은 22.4%, 기타 직종은 23.5%만이 있다라고 답했다. 대상자들의 설문조사를 분석한 결과, 의사들에 비해 다른 직종의 대상자들이 부검에 대한 교육정도나 거부감이 더 큰 것으로 나타났다. 부검에 대한 부정적 의식의 개선을 위해 전문 인력의 양성과 관련 법률을 정비하여 우리나라 실정에 맞는 올바른 검시제도의 정착과 국민들에 대한 체계적인 법의학교육에 힘써야 할 것이다.

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.159-163
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• 2018

Progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD) is a primary muscle disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness and wasting, which is inherited by an X-linked recessive pattern and occurs mainly in males. There are several types of muscular dystrophies classified according to the distribution of predominant muscle weakness including Duchenne and Becker, Emery-Dreifuss, facioscapulohumeral, oculopharyngeal, and limb-girdle type. Clinical manifestations of PMD are clumsy, unsteady gait, pneumonia, heart failure, pulmonary edema, hydropericardium, hydrothorax, aspiration, syncopal attacks, and sudden cardiac death. The deceased was a 34-year-old man, and the onset of the first clinical symptom, gait disturbance, was in his late teens. His elder brother had the same disease and experienced brain death after a head trauma and died after mechanical ventilation was discontinued. After an autopsy, we found contracture of the joints, pseudohypertrophy of the calf, wasting and fat replacement of the thigh muscle, pericardial effusion (80 mL), fibrosis and fat replacement of the cardiac ventricular wall, pulmonary edema, and froth in the bronchus. The cause of death was heart failure and dyspnea due to muscular dystrophy. There was no sign or suspicion of foul play in his death.

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.168-171
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• 2018

In Korea, small octopus (Octopus minor) and webfoot octopus (Octopus ocellatus) are food items and fatal laryngeal choking due to ingestion of live octopus is not uncommon. We recently encountered two autopsy cases of accidental choking on small octopus and webfoot octopus. Case 1 involved a 58-year-old fisherman who ingested two live webfoot octopuses in his fishing boat and collapsed. He was immediately taken to the hospital but died. During autopsy, one of the webfoot octopuses was found between his pharynx and esophagus; it was obstructing the epiglottis and upper esophagus. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.140%. Case 2 involved a 55-year-old man who ingested an intact body part of a small octopus and was found dead in his house. He had a history of cerebral infarction and angina pectoris. During autopsy, an intact body part of the small octopus was found to be lodged in the laryngeal inlet.

• 분석과학
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.115-121
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• 2021

에탄올 대사체인 에틸글루쿠로나이드(ethyl glucuronide, EtG)와 에틸설페이트(ethyl sulfate, EtS)는 에탄올 섭취의 직접적인 지표물질로서 여러 생체 시료에서 법과학적으로 다양하게 연구되고 있다. 부검 변사자에게서 검출된 에탄올이 사망 전 음주에 의한 것인지 사후 부패에 의해 생성된 에탄올인지 판단하기 위해서는 에탄올 대사체를 분석할 필요가 있다. 일반적으로 혈액에서 에탄올과 함께 EtG, EtS를 검출하고 있지만 부패 상황에 따라 혈액을 확보하는 것이 어려우므로 조직 생체시료를 이용해 에탄올 대사체를 검출함으로써 이를 대체해야 한다. 본 연구에서는 조직 중에서 비장을 선택하여 LC-MS/MS를 이용해 EtG, EtS를 검출하였으며 시험법이 적합한 방법인지를 증명하기 위해 밸리데이션을 수행하여 법과학적 감정에 사용할 수 있는 분석법을 완성하고 실제 부검 사례에 적용하였다.

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• 제42권4호
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• pp.111-125
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• 2018

Statistical analysis was performed on national forensic autopsy data collected in the Republic of Korea, with the exception of Ulsan, during 2017. A total of 8,777 cases were categorized based on the region; information was provided by the Police Agency and the Coast Guard regarding sex, age, manner of death, and cause of death. Analysis of the manner of death revealed that 3,971 cases (45.2%) were unnatural deaths, 3,679 cases (41.9%) were natural deaths, and 1,127 cases (12.8%) were unknown deaths. Among the unnatural deaths, the majority of the cases (1,740 cases, 43.8%) were accidents, 1,316 cases (33.1%) were suicide, 385 cases (9.7%) were homicide, and 530 cases (13.3%) were undetermined deaths. Among the unnatural deaths, the majority of the cases (1,575 cases, 39.7%) were trauma, followed by 793 cases (20.0%) of poisoning and 689 cases (17.4%) of asphyxia. Falling down was the major cause of death by trauma (737 cases, 46.8%). As a result of the classification of asphyxia based on previous study, strangulation was the major cause, with 538 cases (78.1%). Among the natural deaths, heart disease was the major cause (1,790 cases, 48.7%), followed by vascular disease (697 cases, 18.9%).

• The Korean Journal of Legal Medicine
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.61-64
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• 2016

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV (EDS IV) is a hereditary disorder of the connective tissue, characterized by easy bruising, thin skin with visible veins, and spontaneous rupture of the large arteries, uterus, or bowel. EDS IV is caused by mutations of the gene for type III procollagen (COL3A1), resulting in insufficient collagen production or a defect in the structure of collagen. EDS IV can have fatal complications such as the rupture of great vessels or organs, which can cause hemorrhaging and sudden unexpected death. Here, we report a case of a 43-year-old female who collapsed after a struggle with a neighbor. In this patient, the bifurcation of the bilateral common iliac artery ruptured, with no evidence of trauma, inflammation, or atherosclerosis. Genetic analysis of COL3A1 showed the presence of a c.2771G>A (p.Gly924Arg) mutation, which may be associated with EDS IV. The forensic pathologist should consider the possibility that the spontaneous visceral or arterial rupture was caused by EDS IV. Genetic analysis is not currently a routine procedure during autopsy. However, in this case, we suggest that the patient possibly had an underlying EDS IV condition, and we recommended family members of the deceased to seek genetic analysis and counseling.