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Research Articles (Forensic Medicine): Recent submissions

  • Forensic case book : mirror image ‘selfie’ causes confusion 
    Robinson, Liam; Makhoba, Aubrey Musa; Bernitz, Herman (South African Dental Association, 2020-04)
    The body of a decomposed female was found immersed in a water purification plant in a small town. The South African Police Service (SAPS) believed that the body could be that of a person they had been searching for since ...
  • Deaths due to police action and deaths in custody : a persistent problem in Pretoria, South Africa 
    Barit, Shimon; Du Toit-Prinsloo, Lorraine; Saayman, Gert (Institute for Security Studies, 2020)
    In 2013, South Africa had the second highest rate of imprisonment in Africa. During the apartheid era, a substantial number of deaths in custody involved political detainees. However, two decades after the abolition of ...
  • Injuries and deaths from lightning 
    Blumenthal, Ryan (BMJ Publishing Group Group, 2021-04)
    This paper reviews recent academic research into the pathology of trauma of lightning. Lightning may injure or kill in a variety of different ways. Aimed at the trainee, or practicing pathologist, this paper provides ...
  • A simple mathematical model for Ebola in Africa 
    Tsanou, Berge; Lubuma, Jean M.-S.; Moremedi, G.M.; Morris, Neil Kenneth; Kondera-Shava, R. (Taylor and Francis, 2017)
    We deal with the following question: Can the consumption of contaminated bush meat, the funeral practices and the environmental contamination explain the recurrence and persistence of Ebola virus disease outbreaks in Africa? ...
  • Drugged driving in South Africa 
    Liebenberg, Jade; Du Toit-Prinsloo, Lorraine; Saayman, Gert; Steenkamp, Vanessa (Institute for Security Studies, 2019-03)
    Driving under the influence is a major threat to road safety in South Africa. Various psychoactive substances (both licit and illicit) have the potential to adversely affect driving performance and increase the probability ...
  • A multidisciplinary forensic analysis of two lightning deaths observed in South Africa 
    Hunt, Hugh G.P.; Blumenthal, Ryan; Nixon, Ken J.; Gomes, Chandima (Elsevier, 2020-12)
    While in-depth studies of lightning deaths can be found in the literature, rarely do such investigations they utilize a multidisciplinary approach, analysing both the medical and electrical aspects of a case. Even more ...
  • Tongue position and its relation to the cause of death and sequential stages of body decomposition observed during 608 forensic post-mortems 
    Bernitz, Herman; Van Staden, Paul Jacobus; Rossouw, Servaas Hofmeyr; Jordaan, J.C. (Joyce) (Springer, 2019-07)
    The purpose of this study was to document tongue position and its relation to the cause of death and sequential stages of body decomposition, as observed during the routine forensic pathological examination of bodies. The ...
  • Black mamba death : venom versus antivenom? 
    Blumenthal, Ryan; Scholtz, Pieter Evelyn Pienaar; Shuttleworth, Jenna-lee (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2019-12)
    We present the case of a male adult who was admitted to an emergency department after having sustained envenomation from a black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis). According to the available history, a single fang hooked his ...
  • Thermal fatalities in Pretoria : a 5-year retrospective review 
    Morobadi, Kenalemang; Blumenthal, Ryan; Saayman, Gert (Elsevier, 2019-11)
    In South Africa, research on burn mortality has emanated primarily from specialised burn centres and has focused on specific age groups and hospital-based fatalities. This study describes the demographic profile and the ...
  • Medicolegal perspectives of interpersonal violence : a review of first-contact clinical notes 
    Loots, Donovan P.; Saayman, Gert (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2019-10)
    BACKGROUND. South Africa has one of the highest rates of interpersonal violence (IPV), in all its forms, in the world. Incidents of assault are largely under-reported and place an immense burden on the healthcare, fiscal ...
  • A fire extinguisher death : the Macklin effect 
    Blumenthal, Ryan; Hänert-van der Zee, Brigitte (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2018-06)
    We present the case of an adult white man found dead in a psychiatric institution with fine white powder (monoammonium phosphate) deposited over the entire face after he insufflated the contents of a dry chemical fire ...
  • Self-inflicted explosive death by intra-oral detonation of a firecracker : a case report 
    Makhoba, Aubrey Musa; Du Toit-Prinsloo, Lorraine (Springer, 2017-12)
    Self-inflicted explosive deaths due to detonation of fireworks are rare. In this case report, a peculiar case of an elderly male who discharged a firecracker inside his mouth, resulting in fatal blast induced craniofacial ...
  • Forensic dentistry case book 8 : taking identification to a higher level 
    Bernitz, Herman; Saayman, Gert (South African Dental Association, 2017-03)
    Dental identification of decomposed, burned and mutilated remains usually involves comparing the ante-mortem with the post-mortem dental records of the suspected victim. This procedure is dependent on the availability of ...
  • Lodox® digital imaging – a tool for dental identification in single and mass fatality situations 
    Bernitz, Herman; Verster, Janette (South African Dental Association, 2017-04)
    Lodox®Statscan™ is a relatively recent addition to the field of post- mortem radiology and imaging in forensic dentistry and forensic medicine. A number of cases were encountered where victims who could not undergo ...
  • Osseus metaplasia in chronic renal allograft rejection 
    Makhoba, Aubrey Musa; Du Toit-Prinsloo, Lorraine (African Association of Nephrology, 2017-06-21)
    The formation of heterotopic bone tissue outside the skeleton, known as osseous metaplasia, is a well-known phenomenon, but only a handful of cases describe this in renal allografts. We report the case of a 26-year-old ...
  • Suicide in Pretoria : a retrospective review, 2007 - 2010 
    Engelbrecht, C.; Blumenthal, Ryan; Morris, Neil Kenneth; Saayman, Gert (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2017-08)
    BACKGROUND : The World Health Organization has declared suicide a global health crisis, predicting that ~1.53 million people will commit suicide annually by 2020. OBJECTIVE : A study from South Africa reviewed 1 018 ...
  • Ralstonia solanacearum and r. Pseudosolanacearum on eucalyptus : opportunists or primary pathogens? 
    Coutinho, Teresa A.; Wingfield, Michael J. (Frontiers Research Foundation, 2017-05-11)
    Ralstonia solanacearum and R. pseudosolanacearum are well known primary pathogens of herbaceous crops. Reports of wilt caused by these pathogens in tree species are limited other than on Eucalyptus species. Despite the ...
  • Case report : lightning-induced pneumomediastinum 
    Blumenthal, Ryan; Saayman, Gert (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2017-06)
    We present the case of a 41-year-old woman who was fatally injured during a witnessed lightning strike event and in whom autopsy revealed the unusual keraunopathological finding of overt pneumomediastinum. The possible ...
  • Registrars teaching undergraduate medical students : a pilot study at the University of Pretoria, South Africa 
    Du Toit-Prinsloo, Lorraine; Morris, Neil Kenneth; Lee, M.; Pickworth, G.P. (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2016-10)
    BACKGROUND. Registrars play a vital role in teaching undergraduate (UG) medical students. Previous studies indicate that registrars contribute as much as 30% of medical students’ knowledge and that up to 20% of a registrar’s ...
  • Sudden and unexpected childhood deaths investigated at the Pretoria Medico-Legal Laboratory, South Africa, 2007-2011 
    Van Deventer, Barbara Stroh; Rossouw, Servaas Hofmeyr; Du Toit-Prinsloo, Lorraine (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2016-10)
    BACKGROUND. Sudden and unexpected death is well known to occur in infants, and although sudden deaths are less frequent after the first birthday, they still account for a significant proportion of childhood deaths. In ...