[Remarkable intracranial findings in a burn victim]

In a case of death from burning, the examination of the corpse (80 year old female pensioner, walking disability, almost blind, heavy smoker) resulted in a number of remarkable findings: Epidural burn hematoma, retraction and rupture of the dura mater, cauliflower-like swelling of the brain in the frontal area, detachment of both crura cerebri with hemorrhaging into the interstitial tissue, microscopically recognizable hemorrhaging in the right frontal lobe of the brain. The mentioned findings were construed as post mortem changes. The question how such hemorrhaging could occur after death is being discussed by means of the literature. In conclusion, it is pointed out that the findings made in cases of death from burning should be assessed with great reserve.