Photos from the book
If These Bodies Could Talk: True Tales of a Medical Examiner

If These Bodies Could Talk: True Tales of a Medical Examiner: (Two Color Edition)

• Autopsy suite
• Surgical instruments
• Photo 1. Tattoo: “Hey, you at the morgue!”
• Photo 2. Suturing needles for standard sectional incisions have a sharp edge and flat shape
• Photo 3. Bone saw
• Photo 4. Electric autopsy saw
• Photo 5. This transparent plastic screen protects the head from being spattered with blood and bone shards while cuts are being made
• Photo 6. This hammer has a special hook for separating sawed-off fragments of the skull
• Photo 7. Autopsy chisel
• Photo 8. Large amputation knife (top), small amputation knife (center), costal knife (bottom)
• Photo 9. The brain knife is sharpened on both sides and used to remove sections of organs and tissues for histological examination
• Photo 10. In order to carefully remove the pituitary gland, the Tuchik-Chertovsky knife is used (1. handle, 2. blade, 3. hooked end, 4. tip)
• Photo 11. Scissors. The jaw of the enterotomic scissors (right) has a curved edge with a hook for examining the intestinal canal
• Photo 12. The toothed forceps (top) are used to clamp down organs and tissues. In order to examine hard-to-reach places (for example, the spinal cord) small ones are used (bottom)
• Photo 13. A ladle is used for removing and measuring liquids
• Photo 14. Probes for examining vessels (the two top probes are buttoned, and below is a grooved probe)
• Photo 15. My personal briefcase for storing tools
• Photo 16. A bottle for storing blood samples
• Photo 17. A special thermal bag for transporting samples to the laboratory
• Photo 18. The cutting process, preparing fragments of organs and tissues. The special cassette is below
• Photo 19. The cutting process: a piece is cut from each fragment, part 1
• Photo 20. The cutting process: a piece is cut from each fragment, part 2
• Photo 21. The cutting process: a piece is cut from each fragment, part 3
• Photo 22. The cutting process: a piece is cut from each fragment, part 4
• Photo 23. The cutting process: above—everything stored in the archive; below—what is sent to the laboratory
• Photo 24. The cutting process: on the left cassette, punctate hemorrhages can be seen in pieces of the brain
• Photo 25. Tweezers that had been left in an abdominal cavity
• Photo 26. Putrefactive venous network, part 1
• Photo 27. Putrefactive venous network, part 2
• Photo 28. Exfoliating of the epidermis
• Photo 29. Mummification, part 1
• Photo 30. Mummification, part 2
• Photo 31. An unexpected “roommate” part 1
• Photo 32. An unexpected “roommate” part 2
• Photo 33. Exhumation of remains, part 1
• Photo 34. Exhumation of remains, part 2
• Photo 35. Exhumation of remains, part 3
• Photo 36. Exhumation of remains, part 4
• Photo 37. Exhumation of remains, part 5
• Photo 38. Exhumation of remains, part 6
• Photo 39. Open craniocerebral trauma
• Photo 40. Ruptured spleen
• Photo 41. Fracture of the sixth cervical vertebra
• Photo 42. The result of a dive from the fifth floor: a ruptured liver
• Photo 43. The result of a dive from the fifth floor: hemorrhages under the pia mater and a brain contusion
• Photo 44. The result of a dive from the fifth floor: ruptured lungs
• Photo 45. Domestic conflict: head injuries made by a hammer
• Photo 46. Domestic conflict: a fractured skull
• Photo 47. Cause of death—a craniocerebral trauma caused by a falling poplar branch, part 1
• Photo 48. Cause of death—a craniocerebral trauma caused by a falling poplar branch, part 2
• Photo 49. Plastic knives
• Photo 50. Plastic knives cause very specific damage
• Photo 51. An injury of the right thigh (femoral), with damage to major blood vessels — the result of a collision with a pole
• Photo 52. Craniocerebral trauma as a result of a motorcyclist hitting a truck at a traffic light
• Photo 53. Hemorrhages under the pia mater and brain contusions as the result of a motorcyclist hitting a truck at a traffic light
• Photo 54. Extensive basilar skull fractures — the result of a motorcyclist’s attempt to slip through an intersection
• Photo 55. An open craniocerebral trauma and several fractures of the cranial roof bones when a motorcyclist lost control and fell from an overpass
• Photo 56. A chest injury caused by a non-lethal pistol OSA. This is a chest entrance wound
• Photo 57. A chest injury caused by a non-lethal pistol OSA. This is a heart entrance wound
• Photo 58. A chest injury caused by a non-lethal pistol OSA. The bullet
• Photo 59. A head injury caused by a rubber bullet. The arrow shows the bullet in the brain matter
• Photo 60. A heart injury caused by a shotgun fired into the victim’s chest
• Photo 61. Due to injuries to the parieto-occipital region of the head, the bullet may end up in the buccal cavity, part 1
• Photo 62. Due to injuries to the parieto-occipital region of the head, the bullet may end up in the buccal cavity, part 2
• Photo 63. Shot from a double-barreled hunting rifle with vertical barrels
• Photo 64. Results of the explosion at Park Kultury subway station in Moscow (terrorist attacks, 2010): scattered shrapnel
• Photo 65. Results of the explosion at Park Kultury subway station in Moscow (terrorist attacks, 2010): damage to the pelvic bones and uterus
• Photo 66. Results of the explosion at Park Kultury subway station in Moscow (terrorist attacks, 2010): a bone defect in an injury to the left temporal region
• Photo 67. Results of the explosion at Park Kultury subway station in Moscow (terrorist attacks, 2010): a deformed wristwatch case found in brain tissue
• Photo 68. Airfield accident, part 1
• Photo 69. Airfield accident, part 2
• Photo 70. Airfield accident, part 3
• Photo 71. Airfield accident, part 4
• Photo 72. A bear’s foot found in a dumpster, part 1
• Photo 73. A bear’s foot found in a dumpster, part 2
• Photo 74. Autoerotic asphyxiation (hanging, gibbet) using a dog collar
• Photo 75. When someone is strangled, various hemorrhages will form, for example, on the whites of the eyes
• Photo 76. Macerated skin on the hands
• Photo 77. Deep breakage of the mucus membrane in the lower esophagus
• Photo 78. An unpeeled seed lodged in the trachea
• Photo 79. Pieces of food closing the entrance to the larynx, part 1
• Photo 80. Pieces of food closing the entrance to the larynx, part 2
• Photo 81. Sign of electrical injury
• Photo 82. Train surfers often suffer extreme injuries or separated limbs; sometimes their entire body is charred
• Photo 83. Electrical marks on the skin after contact with a source of electricity, part 1
• Photo 84. Electrical marks on the skin after contact with a source of electricity, part 2
• Photo 85. An electrical injury on the hand that was holding the fishing rod
• Photo 86. Electrical marks on one of the victim’s shoes
• Photo 87. Traces of the electric current
• Photo 88. Suicide via electrocution
• Photo 89. Alcohol poisoning, part 1
• Photo 90. Alcohol poisoning, part 2
• Photo 91. A funnel-shaped (choanoid) scar with thick walls, leading to the femoral vein
• Photo 92. Leg of a drug addict with elephantiasis
• Photo 93. Sometimes, during a myocardial infarction, blood spills into the pericardium, compressing the heart and causing death
• Photo 94. An internal examination of a myocardial infarction at various stages of development. Hemorrhaging, which saturates the heart muscle
• Photo 95. An internal examination of myocardial infarction at various stages of development. Grayish, dirty coloring and thickening of the myocardium
• Photo 96. Arteries damaged by atherosclerosis
• Photo 97. An aneurism is a pathological protrusion of the vessel wall, which can rupture in certain conditions
• Photo 98. Blood clots cannot pass through the lung arteries, so the arteries are blocked, and the person is unable to breathe, part 1
• Photo 99. Blood clots cannot pass through the lung arteries, so the arteries are blocked, and the person is unable to breathe, part 2
• Photo 100. The results of attempting to self-treat breast cancer, part 1
• Photo 101. The results of attempting to self-treat breast cancer, part 2
• Photo 102. Peripheral lung cancer develops in the lung tissue
• Photo 103. Lung cancer metastasizes to many organs, including the liver
• Photo 104. Metastasis to the brain
• Photo 105. Stomach cancer
• Photo 106. Cervical cancer
• Photo 107. Skin cancer
• Photo 108. The result of attempting to self-medicate cancer
• Photo 109. Kaposi’s sarcoma affects both the skin and internal organs and looks like areas of thickened black and brown tissue. In advanced cases, the tumor tissue begins to disintegrate
• Photo 110. Bovine tapeworm
• Photo 111. Bovine tapeworm can reach up to thirty feet long (this tapeworm was too long for us to fully measure)
• Photo 112. Echinococcosis of the liver
• Photo 113. Echinococcosis of the heart