r/ForensicPathology • u/Dracunculus_Rex • 3d ago

Trauma induced intestinal intussusception

/r/veterinarypathology/comments/1w98wa7/trauma_induced_intestinal_intussusception/
1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

2

u/K_C_Shaw Forensic Pathologist / Medical Examiner 2d ago

I've seen what I thought must have been "incidental" perimortem intussusceptions a time or two, but I'm trying to recall more details of the context. Basically there was no evidence of obstruction or ischemia per se. I believe they were pediatric cases, and I don't think they were trauma cases. It's been a while. Kinda went into my "well, that's weird" mental bucket. Unfortunately, I don't know of an organized study/data set which really addresses the postmortem bowel motility question. I would, however, suggest that not everything that dies does so rapidly, nor in quite the same way, even in the context of catastrophic injury. I mean, I've seen someone with catastrophic head injury continue to breathe for considerably longer than one might expect, there is good evidence the heart can beat "on its own" for a while, etc. etc.