[Using muscle histology for assessment of vitality in hanging].

The external and internal signs of vitality of hanging were often absent in a retrospective study of 55 cases of hanging. The histological examination of the cervical muscles however revealed in the majority of the cases "vital" changes in the muscle fibres, e.g. segmental or discoid fragmentation of the muscle fibres with loss of the sarcoplasmatic cross-striation. The histological examination is therefore a valid instrument for proofing the vitality of hanging and other forms of strangulation.