Legal Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 1 , Pages 60-64, March 2003

Sudden unexpected death due to rupture of the stomach

Department of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama University, 2-5-1 Shikata-Cho, Okayama City, Okayama 700-8558, Japan

Received 1 January 2002; received in revised form 31 May 2002; accepted 23 July 2002.

Abstract 

We report a case of sudden unexpected death due to rupture of the stomach. A 49-year-old man was found dead in a public lavatory. Autopsy findings revealed two rupture wounds measuring 14 cm and 6 cm located in the fundus of stomach at the side of the greater curvature despite of any superficial injury. The deceased had an ulcer in the lesser curvature of stomach, and dilation in this area was expected to be impaired. Under this condition, excessive over-eating resulting in over-extension of the stomach wall at the greater curvature was speculated to have caused stomach rupture.

Keywords: Unexpected sudden death, Gastric rupture, Overextension of gastric wall, Gastric ulcer

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PII: S1344-6223(02)00034-2

Legal Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 1 , Pages 60-64, March 2003

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