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Revisit of gastromalacia: a report of three cases and review of the literature

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Abstract

Gastromalacia, a postmortem dissolution of the stomach, is caused by endogenous enzymes resulting in thinning and softening of the stomach wall with focal perforation. Thus, identifying gastromalacia and differentiating it from other causes of gastric perforation is essential to avoid misdiagnosis. Herein, three cases of gastromalacia are described. The victims died due to hyperthermia, leukemia complicated by cerebral hemorrhage, and asphyxia due to inhaled vomitus, respectively. The macroscopic and microscopic appearance in three cases indicated gastromalacia, although multiple factors confused the diagnosis. Furthermore, the differential diagnosis and the underlying mechanism are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the open project of Evidence-Identifying Key Laboratory in Shandong Universities of Political Science and Law (Grant 2018KFKT1)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forensic Center, Shandong University of Political Science and Law, 63 Jiefang East Road, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China

    Hongmei Dong, Xuebo Li & Liangliang Li

  2. Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, People’s Republic of China

    Hongmei Dong, Mingjie Qiu & Qing Gao

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  1. Hongmei Dong
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  2. Mingjie Qiu
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  3. Qing Gao
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  4. Xuebo Li
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  5. Liangliang Li
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Correspondence to Hongmei Dong.

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Dong, H., Qiu, M., Gao, Q. et al. Revisit of gastromalacia: a report of three cases and review of the literature. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 16, 489–492 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-020-00274-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-020-00274-9

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