Cardiac dimensions measured from post-mortem photographs: are they accurate?

• Published in: Australian journal of forensic sciences Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 62 - 70
• Main Authors: Gadsby, Zeena, Martin, Jeremy, Thompson, Melissa, Ondruschka, Benjamin, Da Broi, Ugo, Tse, Rexson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sydney Taylor & Francis 02.01.2025; Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences; Copyright Agency Limited (Distributor)
• Subjects: Autopsy; cardiac dimensions; Forensic pathology; Forensic science; Forensic sciences; Heart; Histology; Hypertrophy; imaging; Pathology; Peer review; Post-mortem
• ISSN: 0045-0618; 1834-562X
• DOI: 10.1080/00450618.2023.2283414

Peer reviewing post-mortem reports, photographs and histology is a mandatory process in the everyday practice of forensic pathology. In the context of organ measurement/dimensions, comparing the dimensions measured from a post-mortem photograph and what was recorded in the post-mortem report is sometimes necessary. However, there are limited studies validating the accuracy of dimensions measured from a photograph in forensic pathology. This study examined the cardiac dimensions measured from a standard post-mortem photograph of a heart section. It showed that although there was acceptable intra- and inter-rater reliability, the overall accuracy was low compared with gross measurement at post-mortem examination. The results from this study suggest that measurements taken from a post-mortem photograph have limited utility in assessing cardiac dimensions. The reasons for this discrepancy and recommendations on how to improve the accuracy are provided.