1Prof & Head, Department of Forensic Medicine, Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan
2Tutor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata
3Assistant professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, IQ City Medical College, Durgapur
*Corresponding Author: Email Id; smk.kgp@gmail.com
Online published on 15 December, 2018.
Chin-sternum-heart syndrome refers to a pattern of injury where there is a triad of chin injury, sternum fracture and heart rupture/contusion.
We report a fatal case of pedestrian victim of road traffic accident on the highway with the chin-sternum-heart syndrome type of injury. The autopsy findings were as follows: large scalp bruise, abrasions in the chin and the sternal region, a transverse fracture of the sternum, contusion of the heart and cervical injury.
We postulate that above the critical impact velocity of 100 km per hour, the body is tossed up, thrown backwards, rotates along its axis, and falls with hyper flexion at the neck. This causes compression fracture of sternum and blunt force trauma to the heart and great vessels. This leads to almost instantaneous death. The primary impact injury may or may not be discernible. This chin-sternumheart-syndrome type of injury is useful finding for reconstructing the impact biomechanics in road traffic fatalities.
Chin-Sternum-Heart Syndrome, Forensic Pathology, Biomechanics, Blunt Cardiac Trauma, Hyperflexion of Neck, High Velocity Pedestrian Injury
