Blunt trauma and petechiae

Petechial haemorrhages, although non-specific findings are considered hallmarks of asphyxial deaths. Despite the common knowledge that they are neither predictable findings in all asphyxial deaths nor rare in natural, non-asphyxial deaths, the belief persists that petechiae are corroborative evidence of asphyxia. Four cases of vehicular accident are discussed in which blunt trauma to heart, lungs, and liver was present. The presence of petechial haemorrhage on these traumatized organs substantiates that petechiae are the product of purely vascular phenomenon unrelated to asphyxia or hypoxia and they are possible due to direct blunt trauma to the organs.