Thoracic Visceral Compression-A Useful Technique for Demonstrating Small Bleeding Points in the Dissected Neck at...

A 29-year-old man died at the scene of an altercation from a stab wound to the left side of the neck. At autopsy, careful in situ examination of the common carotid artery did not reveal any evidence of hemorrhage or apparent vascular injury. However, applying pressure to the chest wall and underlying thoracic viscera (lungs and heart) resulted in filling of the collapsed vessel with blood causing hemorrhage from a small incision on the medial aspect of the common carotid artery. Release of pressure and drying of the dissection field enabled the artery to be opened and the small defect to be identified. This technique may be used to temporarily restore blood to a vessel to help identify a small bleeding point that may otherwise be difficult to detect.