Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 15, Issue 8 , Pages 529-532, November 2008

Vertebral arterial injury due to fatal dog bites

  • Toru Oshima, MD PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +81 96 373 5124; fax: +81 96 373 5123.
    • ,
  • Sohtaro Mimasaka, MD PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Zaifu-cho 5, Hirosaki 036-8562, Japan
    • ,
  • Kosei Yonemitsu, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
    • ,
  • Katsumi Kita, DDS

      Affiliations

    • Kita Dental Clinic, 2-20-28 Egoe, Kumamoto 860-0834, Japan
    • ,
  • Shigeyuki Tsunenari, MD PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan

Received 22 August 2007; received in revised form 1 February 2008; accepted 10 April 2008.

Abstract 

Dog bite-related injuries and fatalities are major public health problem worldwide. The authors present a case of a Japanese Tosa-dog bite-related fatality in an old woman who died from a vertebral arterial laceration with the C5 vertebral fracture. This was an uncommon type of injury that dog bites injured the vertebral artery only without damage to carotid artery. The identity of the Tosa-dog as an offending dog in this case was unsuccessful by a DNA analysis. Then the detection of the offending dog was made by comparisons of the dental casts of the dog with the victim’s wounds.

This case report describes making dental cast of the dog, and statistical data on dog-bite incidents in Japan.

Keywords: Dog bite, Bite mark, Dog dental cast, Vertebral artery injury, Fatal case

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PII: S1752-928X(08)00072-3

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2008.04.004

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 15, Issue 8 , Pages 529-532, November 2008

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