Legal Medicine
Volume 12, Issue 2 , Pages 73-78 , March 2010

Cardiothoracic ratio in postmortem chest radiography with regard to the cause of death

  • Tomomi Michiue

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +81 6 6645 3767; fax: +81 6 6634 3871.
    • ,
  • Takaki Ishikawa

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • ,
  • Shigeki Sakoda

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • ,
  • Li Quan

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • Department of Forensic Pathology, Zhongshan Medical College, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 74, Zhongshan 2 Road, Guangzhou, 510080 Guangdong, China
    • ,
  • Dong-Ri Li

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • Department of Forensic Pathology, Sichuan University West China School of Preclinical Medical Science and Forensic Medicine, Chengdu City, 610041 Sichuan, PR China
    • ,
  • Yasunobu Kamikodai

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • ,
  • Shuji Okazaki

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • ,
  • Bao-Li Zhu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
    • Department of Forensic Pathology, China Medical University School of Forensic Medicine, No. 92, Beier Road, Heping District, Shenyang, 110001 Liaoning Province, PR China
    • ,
  • Hitoshi Maeda

      Affiliations

    • Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8585, Japan

Received 17 June 2009 ,Revised 14 October 2009 ,Accepted 19 November 2009.

References 

  1. Thali MJ, Yen K, Schweitzer W, Vock P, Boesch C, Ozdoba C, et al. Virtopsy, a new imaging horizon in forensic pathology: virtual autopsy by postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–a feasibility study. J Forensic Sci. 2003;48:386–403
  2. Oehmichen M, Gehl HB, Meissner C, Petersen D, Höche W, Gerling I, et al. Forensic pathological aspects of postmortem imaging of gunshot injury to the head: documentation and biometric data. Acta Neuropathol. 2003;105:570–580
  3. Danzer CS. The cardiothoracic ratio. Am J Med Sci. 1919;157:513–521
  4. Ernst ER, Shub C, Bailey KR, Brown LR, Redfield MM. Radiographic measurements of cardiac size as predictors of outcome in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. J Card Fail. 2001;7:13–20
  5. Hemingway H, Shipley M, Christie D, Marmot M. Cardiothoracic ratio and relative heart volume as predictors of coronary heart disease mortality. The Whitehall study 25 year follow-up. Eur Heart J. 1998;19:859–869
  6. Poggi A, Maggiore Q. Cardiothoracic ratio as a guide to ultrafiltration therapy in dialyzed patients. Int J Artif Organs. 1980;3:332–337
  7. Ely EW, Smith AC, Chiles C, Aquino SL, Harle TS, Evans GW, et al. Radiologic determination of intravascular volume status using portable, digital chest radiography: a prospective investigation in 100 patients. Crit Care Med. 2001;29:1502–1512
  8. Hada Y. Cardiothoracic ratio. J Cardiol. 1995;26:51–54
  9. Raphael MJ, Donaldson RM. The Normal Heart methods of Examination. In:  Sutton D editors. Textbook of Radiology and Imaging. 6th ed.. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1998;p. 562–565
  10. van der Jagt EJ, Smits HJ. Cardiac size in the supine chestfilm. Eur J Radiol. 1992;14:173–177
  11. Ely EW, Haponik EF. Using the chest radiograph to determine intravascular volume status: the role of vascular pedicle width. Chest. 2002;121:942–950
  12. Wigh RE. On defining microcardia: application in pulmonary emphysema. South Med J. 1978;71:150–154
  13. Saukko P, Knight B. Knight′s forensic pathology. 3rd ed.. London: Arnold; 2004;

PII: S1344-6223(09)00366-6

doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2009.11.007

Legal Medicine
Volume 12, Issue 2 , Pages 73-78 , March 2010

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