The manner and cause of death in a forensic series of chronic alcoholics

Chronic alcoholics account for an increasing number of the cases which are examined in forensic pathology. The manner and cause of death in 122 chronic alcoholics is described and compared with a previous investigation and to a group of non-alcoholics. The percentage of cases in which the manner of death is undetermined is twice as high as in the control group, whilst the percentage of suicide, surprisingly enough is only half that of the control group. The patho-anatomic findings in the liver and the causes of death are discussed in detail.