Internal carotid arterial system is the main source of blood supply in brain. In forensic identification practice, blunt injures of internal carotid arterial system usually cause complications such as thrombus, aneurysm and arteriovenous fistula, etc. The deaths following delayed cerebral infarction or intracranial haemorrhage are not rare. At present, literature of deaths caused by blunt injuries of internal carotid arterial system mainly consist of case reports in China. This paper reviews related literature and case reports at home and abroad, and summarizes forensic medical features and identification method of the deaths caused by such injuries. The results show that blunt injures of internal carotid arterial system are related to the direct or indirect force on head and neck, which can result in exceed physiological range traction of head and neck, incision following basicranial fracture, etc. Such injuries are common in the cases as mechanical asphyxia, cervical manipulation, traffic accident and fall, etc. The artery should be examined carefully, and the relationship among injury, disease and death should be analysed correctly when no cause of infarction and hemorrhage was found in routine examination of such cases in forensic pratice. Because of the difficulty for exposing the artery completely in autopsy, angiography can be used to infer the location when necessary for improving the scientificity and reliability of the appraisal conclusion.
Keywords: angiography; carotid artery, internal; forensic pathology; neck injuries; review.
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