Feet rolled over by cars: radiological and histological considerations from experiments

Abstract

This study investigates the question of whether bone structures are injured when a vehicle rolls over a foot. A total of 15 detached feet from deceased persons who had donated their bodies to research were rolled over using a VW Passat station wagon. The feet were enclosed in various types of shoes. The front left tire of the vehicle, inflated to 1.8 bar and driven at walking speed, ran over the feet at a right angle to the long axis. The feet were dissected, and histological and radiological examinations were carried out. The only macroscopically well-defined abrasions of the epidermis were on the back of the foot in the area of contact with the tire and only where the foot had not been covered by a shoe. These abrasions were also well presented histologically. No injuries to the bone structures of the feet, in the form of incomplete fractures, corticalis interruptions or spongiosa compressions were ascertained, either radiologically or microradiologically.