Investigation of Electrocution Death

, Jung Bin Lee

Original Article

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 1987;11(2):43-47.

Department of Forensic Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University

Abstract

Because an electrical burn is lack in some of the electrocution, informations gathering from the death circumstances and witnesses are of great importance in the investigation of the electrocution death. An electrical burn occurs ordinarily in the contact area of the skin to the electrode. exhibiting punched-out or crater-like lesion with central carbonization. Histologically denaturation of collagen fibers in the due to heat results in pale blue stainability in H-E staining in addition to multiple blister formation in the epidermis, microblisters in the epidermal squamous cells and the characteristic palisading pattern of epidermal nuclei. The location of the electrical burn should be ascertained in order to determine the fatal electrical circuit. An electrical burn without carbonization should be differentiated from a heat burn and a contusion. Because of lack of palisading appearance of the epidermal nuclei in the heat burn it can be easily differentiated. Usually the color of the contusion is deep blue-red in contrast to the bright red color of the electrical burn, and the margin of the contusion is less obvious than that of the electrical burn.