Heat-Related Injuries

The examination of burned bodies in forensic medicine is challenging when the body is severely burned or charred. The decisive step is the identification of vitality signs, to determine if the victim was alive or dead at the beginning of the fire. Imaging is mandatory in severely burned and charred bodies, due to the major tissue alterations and the difficulties at the autopsy. The gold-standard imaging technique is post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT), which allows an accurate assessment of bone fractures, as well as distinguishing certain traumatic fractures from thermic fractures, and detecting foreign bodies. Alternatively, if PMCT is not available, conventional X-ray should be performed, covering the whole body (three body cavities and the limbs).