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Neck Trauma

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Forensic Medicine

Abstract

Neck trauma can be subdivided into compression trauma (strangulation: hanging, ligature strangulation, and manual strangulation), non-compression trauma (blunt trauma: karate chop, a blow to the throat with an object, neck entrapment, or a kick to the neck), a shot wound to the neck, and sharp trauma to the neck (knife, axe, hatchet, bottle, etc.). Indirect trauma to the neck may occur in cervical spine trauma often seen following traffic collisions (see Chap. 21) or in the case of shaken baby syndrome (see Chap. 18). Depending on intensity and duration, all the above forms of violent trauma can be fatal. Whereas a victim can be questioned in the case of survival (see Chap. 17), fatal trauma to the neck raises primarily the following forensic questions:

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Dettmeyer, R.B., Verhoff, M.A., Schütz, H.F. (2014). Neck Trauma. In: Forensic Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38818-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38818-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38817-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38818-7

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