Book review

Text Book of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology by V.V. Pillay is a very concise book of Forensic Medicine for the undergraduate students. The 15th Edition is much more elaborate one than the previous issues, many advancement in the field of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Science has been included like the fMRI, Brain Fingerprinting and many more. In the field of Toxicology, as we all know he is one of the pioneers in India and as such, the toxicology section of the text book is very impressive; all the topics are described in concise without any unnecessary elaborations but, has narrated a few case references at the appropriate place which will be beneficial for the undergraduate students. The photographs included in the book are also of good quality and are very appropriate in relation to the text. In my opinion it is a complete book for the undergraduate students.

Case report:

A case of burn was brought to the Deptt. of Forensic Medicine, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam, for ML autopsy. The victim suffered approximately 98% burn. No injury detected except the burn injury on external examination. I used the “Fourth Autopsy Incision” which I developed in the year 2006, and found few contusions in the back of the chest which would have remained unnoticed in ‘I’ shaped, ‘Y’ shaped or modified ‘Y’ shaped incisions. Advantages of the “Fourth Autopsy Incision”:

• whole of the circumference of the neck, thorax and abdomen is visualised, so, better detection of the wounds.
• no or minimal seepage from the cavities.
• stitches can be kept hidden in the front of the neck, so, better acceptance for the relatives of the deceased.
• no separate incision is required for opening the spinal canal from the back.

Indications: in cases of death related to

• torture,
• custodial death
• burn
• road traffic accidents and any other cases, where there is history of injury just before death of the person.
  

Case of death with 98% burn

Same case with contusion in the deepper tissues

N.B. The incision is described in “Text Book of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology” by Dr. V.V. Pillay pp. 152-155.
Article on the incision technique is being published in the American journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology in Volume 30, Number 4, December 2009.