Pulmonary cartilage embolism: fact or artefact?
Lau, G.
American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 16(1): 51-53
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0195-7910 PMID: 7771384 Document Number: 447509
Microscopic examination of the lungs of a victim of traumatic asphyxia showed the presence of isolated foci of pulmonary bone marrow and cartilage embolism, although no macroscopic fractures were found. This condition could have resulted from a microfracture at a costochondral junction caused by the severe chest compression that led to the victim's death, or it might have been a resuscitation artefact. The possible role of pulmonary cartilage embolism as a marker of antemortem injury is considered.