| Popis: |
Determining the cause of death in animals recovered from water is challenging. The diagnosis of drowning is usually one of exclusion, requiring information from the crime scene, recovery scene, the medical history, or reliable witness accounts. While there are characteristic macroscopic and microscopic lesions of drowning, none are specific to drowning. Additionally, animals retrieved from water may or may not have drowned. Beyond interpreting the postmortem findings, the court may ask pathologists to comment on the behavioral and welfare implications of drowning. This requires an understanding of the drowning process, which is a complex series of sequential, concurrent, and overlapping cardiorespiratory reflexes, electrolyte and blood gas abnormalities, aspiration, physical exhaustion, and breathlessness eventually culminating in death. This chapter addresses the mechanisms, lesions, and diagnostic issues associated with drowning in nonaquatic companion animals. |
