Simon’s bleedings: a possible mechanism of appearance and forensic importance—a prospective autopsy study

• Published in: International journal of legal medicine 2009-07, Vol.123 (4), p.293-297
• Main Authors: Nikolić, Slobodan, Živković, Vladimir, Juković, Fehim, Babić, Dragan, Stanojkovski, Goran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Asphyxia - pathology; Autopsies; Autopsy; Carbon monoxide poisoning; Female; Forensic Medicine; Forensic Pathology; Hemorrhage - pathology; Humans; Intervertebral Disc - pathology; Lumbar Vertebrae - pathology; Male; Medical Law; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neck Injuries - pathology; Original Article; Prospective Studies; Spinal Diseases - pathology; Strangulation; Trauma; Vital signs; Wounds, Nonpenetrating - pathology
• ISSN: 0937-9827; 1437-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s00414-009-0318-y

Simon’s bleedings are stripe-like hemorrhages on the ventral surface of the intervertebral disks of the lumbar part of the spinal column. The aims of this study were to determine the appearance frequency of Simon’s bleedings in cases of hanging and in other cases of asphyxiations and to determine if the age of the deceased was in correlation with the occurrence of Simon’s bleedings. A prospective autopsic study included 147 cases of hanging, 39 other asphyxiation deaths, and 461 deaths other than asphyxiation (blunt trauma, natural deaths, etc.). Simon’s bleedings were present in 62.8% cases of hanging and in 61.5% cases of other types of asphyxiations. Simon’s bleedings are not specific for hanging ( χ 2  = 0.022, p  > 0.05). Simon’s bleedings were less frequent in other cases. It was established that the older the person was, the possibility of Simon’s bleedings to occur would be less (Spearman’s correlation coefficient = −0.225, p