Demonstrating the origin of cardiac air embolism using post-mortem computed tomography; an illustrated case

An 83 year old female was found dead in her home. The deceased had been struck repeatedly to the head with at least one weapon, one of which was a hammer. The deceased had suffered both penetrating and non-penetrating blunt trauma to the head as a result of the assault. A multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scan was undertaken approximately 12 h after death prior to the autopsy examination. This demonstrated the presence of a cardiac air embolus and continuity between the air embolus and the penetrating head injury. Air within the heart is a recognised post-mortem artefact frequently seen on MDCT scans and a common pitfall for inexperienced cadaveric MDCT reporters. This case builds upon a previous report by Kauczor, illustrating how MDCT can be used to demonstrate the origin and route of ingress of a genuine air embolism to the heart.