REVIEW PAPER
Application of ophthalmoscopy in forensic medicine
1
Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
2
Department of Human Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
3
Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
Submission date: 2024-05-27
Final revision date: 2024-07-16
Acceptance date: 2024-08-03
Publication date: 2025-07-01
Medical Studies 2025;41(3):145-154
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Postmortem examination of ocular fundus structures has historically relied on direct ophthalmoscopy and evisceration of the eye. The biggest limitation of direct ophthalmoscopy is coronal clouding. However, with the use of endoscopy, we can bypass this obstacle. This narrative review article with observations from our Department of Forensic Medicine explains the use of postmortem ophthalmoscopy in the following cases: asphyxia, post-mortem interval evaluation, carbon monoxide poisoning, postmortem position evaluation, shaken baby syndrome, subarachnoid hemorrhage, Terson syndrome, pediatric infections, retinal hemorrhages in cerebral malaria, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and retinal air embolism. In addition, we presented the proprietary methodology we use to examine the fundus using postmortem ophthalmoscopy. This review of literature is based on a selective literature search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases from 2009 to 2023 using the search terms “ophthalmoscopy”, “forensic medicine” and “retina”.
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| eISSN: | 2300-6722 |
| ISSN: | 1899-1874 |
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