The significance of subendocardial hemorrhages detected in forensic autopsies.

Introduction: In our study, our aim was to reveal the relationship between subendocardial hemorrhage (SEH)  which can be seen macroscopically immediately beneath the endocardium, and emerge secondary to many conditions from direct cardiac,  head, and abdominal traumas to hyperemia, and its location with cause of death, its diagnostic value (if any), and whether it can be evaluated as a vital finding. Material and Method : 285 autopsy cases diagnosed as SEH which were brought to the Group Presidency of Morgue Specialization Department of the State Institute of Forensic Medicine of Bursa  were included in the study Results: Study population consisted of 229 (80.4 %) male, and 56 (19.6 %) female patients. Thity-one cases of death were related to natural causes, while the most frequently detected pathological causes of death were isolated abdominal traumas (32.9 %), followed by isolated head traumas (31.9 %). While traffic accidents ranked first (35.1%) among the events leading to death. Among evaluated cases, SEH was mostly located on septum. Discussion: To fully understand the yet inadequately elucidated pathogenic mechanisms  of SEH , it should be accurately defined by histopathological analysis. Even though various causes of death seen  in association with these lesions suggest more than one underlying pathogenic mechanism, because of their nonspecific characteristics, their possible roles as indicators of vitality (if any) should be reinforced  by further studies.