Souvenir knife: A retained transcranial knife blade

Neil L. Davis, Tzipi Kahana*, Jehuda Hiss

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalShort surveypeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Upon necroscopic examination of a homeless male found comatose in the street and pronounced dead at a medical center 12 hours later, a sharp tip of a knife lodged in the right parietal region of his skull was incidentally discovered. The blade transected the diploe and penetrated the cerebral cortex. Subsequent police investigation revealed that this was the remnant of a stabbing attempt on his life several months prior to his death. The cause of death was determined to be unrelated to the metallic blade fragment, thus making it a truly incidental and rare finding of a "souvenir knife." Nevertheless, since the injury sustained in the stabbing was potentially life threatening, the investigation into that assault was reopened. A case report is presented, along with a brief review of the literature on "souvenir objects".

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)259-261
Number of pages3
JournalAmerican Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Retained foreign bodies
  • Souvenir knife
  • Transcranial injury

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