Location of liver lacerations resulting from deceleration injuries and a proposal for their classification

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to verify during forensic autopsies the occurrence of liver lacerations resulting from deceleration traumas in the locations reported in professional literature, and also to check whether they are located near the left coronary ligament and its extension, i.e. the left triangular liver ligament. Methods: The liver injuries were assessed on the base of cases of forensic autopsies, performed at the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Medical University of Lodz from 1 of September 2011 to 15 of April 2014. In order to analyze the collected data, descriptive methods and statistical inference methods were used. Results: Three types of liver rupture turned out to be characteristic and statistically significant: 1 – on the diaphragmatic surface of the right lobe between its two sectors; 2 – within the left lobe to the right (in segment IV) or to the left (in segment III) of the falciform ligament; 3 – located near the left coronary ligament (in segment II). Conclusions: Typical location of liver lacerations after deceleration trauma, i. e. the right triangular ligament and falciform ligament, are confirmed in the analysed autopsy material. The place not previously described in the literature, which should be regarded as a characteristic location of a liver rupture after deceleration trauma is the diaphragmatic surface of segment II of the left lobe.