Biomaterial Database

Subtle fatal child abuse. 1980

R E Zumwalt, and C S Hirsch

The majority of homicide victims in infancy and childhood have been either beaten or starved to death. However, the pathologist must recognize a much broader range of fatalities in early life for which an adult appropriately bears criminal responsibility. To emphasize the diversity and potential subtlety of homicide in infancy and childhood, we present six instances of fatal child abuse that illustrate the types of unusual physical and chemical assault and the covert negligence that kill children. Unfamiliarity with the law, lack of suspicion in approaching cases, and failure to utilize necessary techniques to establish the mechanism of death can obscure recognition of the homicidal nature of such fatalities.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007035	Hypothermia	Lower than normal body temperature, especially in warm-blooded animals.	Hypothermia, Accidental,Accidental Hypothermia,Accidental Hypothermias,Hypothermias,Hypothermias, Accidental
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D002056	Burns	Injuries to tissues caused by contact with heat, steam, chemicals (BURNS, CHEMICAL), electricity (BURNS, ELECTRIC), or the like.	Burn
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002649	Child Abuse	Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)	Abuse Experiences, Childhood,Child Neglect,Child Neglect Experiences,Child Neglect, Physical,Childhood Abuse Experiences,Childhood Neglect Experiences,Neglect Experience, Childhood,Neglect Experiences, Childhood,Physical Neglect, Childhood,Child Maltreatment,Child Mistreatment,Abuse Experience, Childhood,Abuse, Child,Child Neglect Experience,Childhood Abuse Experience,Childhood Neglect Experience,Childhood Physical Neglect,Childhood Physical Neglects,Experience, Child Neglect,Experience, Childhood Abuse,Experience, Childhood Neglect,Maltreatment, Child,Mistreatment, Child,Neglect Experience, Child,Neglect, Child,Neglect, Childhood Physical,Neglect, Physical Child,Physical Child Neglect,Physical Child Neglects
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003681	Dehydration	The condition that results from excessive loss of water from a living organism.	Water Stress,Stress, Water
D005260	Female		Females
D005554	Forensic Medicine	The application of medical knowledge to questions of law.	Legal Medicine,Medicine, Forensic,Medicine, Legal