Korean J Leg Med.  2015 Nov;39(4):132-135. 10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.4.132.

A Case Report of Suicide by Cutting the Tongue with a Pair of Scissors

• Jo YM
• Lee SH

• KMID: 2130858
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.4.132

Abstract

Common methods of suicide are hanging, toxic substance ingestion, descent from height, and drowning. However, suicide by cutting the tongue is very rare and there are almost no reported cases in the literature. A 76-year-old man who had terminal gastric cancer with multiple liver metastases was found dead in his home. Upon autopsy, it was noted that his tongue was cut by a pair of scissors four times and copious blood was identified in the stomach and intestine. The total loss of blood volume was approximately 750 mL. He had also cut his finger-tip and stabbed his abdomen with a pair of scissors. We concluded that lingual artery injury by scissors was the cause of death.

Keyword

Tongue; Suicide; Autopsy

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Aged
Arteries
Autopsy
Blood Volume
Cause of Death
Drowning
Eating
Humans
Intestines
Liver
Neoplasm Metastasis
Stomach
Stomach Neoplasms
Suicide*
Tongue*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. In the gross appearance of the tongue, four sites of injury on the tip are visible and simulated by a pair of scissors (A, B).

• 

  Fig. 2. In the gross appearance of the stomach, a slightly elevated mucosal lesion with central ulceration is noted in the body and antrum (A). A round, well-demarcated tan-white metastatic firm mass from the stomach cancer is visible in the liver parenchyma (B).

• 

  Fig. 3. Microscopic examination shows moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma in the stomach (A) and similar adenocarcinoma nests in the fibrotic background of the liver (B) (A, H&E, ×40; B, H&E, ×100).

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