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. 2023 Sep 1;44(3):231-233.
doi: 10.1097/PAF.0000000000000835. Epub 2023 May 19.

Work of Eels Setting a Dilemma for Forensic Pathologist: A Case Report

Rohit Goel  1 , Agnes Daney Angela S  2 , Arthy Amarnath  3 , Sunil Subramanyam  4
Affiliations

Work of Eels Setting a Dilemma for Forensic Pathologist: A Case Report

Rohit Goel et al. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. .

Abstract

After the death of an individual, the body may be affected by various natural processes, including the effects of environmental factors and predation by micro-organisms and macro-organisms, which can produce a variety of artifacts. These artifacts can then pose a challenge to forensic personnel, such as whether such activity was antemortem or postmortem in nature and, if antemortem, whether such animal activities contributed to the death of an individual. This case report is a rare example of an interesting postmortem artifact of the presence of moray eels within a corpse. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of such a finding.

Keywords: animal predation; autopsy; drowning; forensic pathology; moray eel; postmortem artifacts.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

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