Figure 15.

(a) Axial post-mortem CT image through the abdomen of an adult male who underwent significant cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts. Bilateral relatively symmetrical anterior (or anterolateral) rib fractures (arrows) are very common in the adult population when effective chest compressions have been undertaken as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Such fractures should not be misinterpreted as deliberate inflicted trauma. (b) Sagittal post-mortem CT (reformatted) image of a different adult male subject demonstrates a fracture of the mid-body of the sternum (arrow); the subject had undergone cardiopulmonary resuscitation with chest compressions; anterolateral rib fractures were also present (not shown).