Objective: The aim of this study is to automatically and reliably predict the presence of cardiovascular pathology from heart photographs using deep learning algorithms. Additionally, it aims to compare the diagnostic performance of different deep learning models.Material and Methods: This prospective study was conducted with the approval of the Education and Scientific Research Commission of the Council of Forensic Medicine and the Ethics Committee for Non-Interventional Scientific Research at Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University. A total of 218 cases (110 men, 108 women) whose hearts were removed during autopsy were included in the study. Photographs of the hearts from each case were obtained using a professional camera. Data augmentation techniques were applied for deep learning analysis, generating six variations from each image and resulting in a dataset comprising a total of 1,308 heart photographs. The hearts were examined in detail both macroscopically and microscopically. Cases with identified cardiovascular pathology were classified as the “patient” group, while cases without any cardiovascular pathology were classified as the “control” group. Morphological images of heart tissue were automatically extracted from the heart photographs. The presence of cardiovascular pathology was assessed using deep learning-based models based on these features.Results: The highest classification accuracy (88.38%) for heart images from the patient and control groups was achieved using the DenseNet201 model. Of the 654 images from the patient group, 569 were correctly classified as “patient,” while 85 were incorrectly predicted as belonging to the “control” group. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that cardiovascular pathology can be predicted using deep learning models based on photographs of the heart’s direct morphological structure, without the need for morphometric measurements. We believe this approach will contribute to forensic reporting processes.

Maternal deaths are among the most critical global health indicators and directly reflect the quality of obstetric care. In this context, it is crucial to define and evaluate maternal mortality accurately. The aim of this study was to identify the factors leading to maternal deaths, and to assess the burden of trauma-related deaths. The autopsies of maternal deaths conducted at the Morgue Department of the Ankara Group Presidency of the Council of Forensic Medicine between 2011 and 2025 were retrospectively recorded through the National Judicial Network system. A total of 63 cases were identified through keyword searches (“pregnant,” “placenta,” and “fetus”), and data pertaining to age, gestational age, parity, mechanism of trauma and autopsy findings were recorded. The mean age of the study group was 28.9±7.1 years. Direct obstetric deaths accounted for 20.6%, indirect obstetric deaths for 17.5%, and incidental maternal deaths for 47.6% of the cases. The cause of death remained undetermined in 14.3% of the cases. Maternal mortality has a heterogeneous and multifactorial structure. The high proportion of incidental deaths in forensic autopsy series suggests that evaluating maternal mortality solely within the framework of obstetric complications may be insufficient.

Aim: The increasing use of addictive substances day by day is causing serious health problems and even deaths among adolescents. Obtaining more comprehensive information about the prevalence of addictive substance use is a necessary and important step for preventive studies. Methods;Within the scope of this study, 5 years of files were scanned retrospectively at the Ankara Headquarter, Council of Forensic Medicine, and then the autopsy reports, forensic investigation files, and toxicological analysis results of 258 cases whose autopsies were performed between the ages of 12–18 were examined. The children’s ages, genders, causes of death, origin of death, blood alcohol, and addictive substance levels were recorded on the Excel program and statistically analyzed using the Jamovi program. Results;In our study, it was determined that the most commonly detected addictive substance in the blood of deaths in the 12-18 age group was alcohol, with a rate of 10.5%. In deaths between the ages of 12-18, the rate of narcotic-stimulant substances in the blood was determined to be 5%. It has been determined that the most common non-alcohol addictive substances in fatal incidents during adolescence are volatile substances. Conclusion:The findings of this study indicate that alcohol consumption and the use of sedative and stimulant substances play a significant role in deaths among the adolescent age group. The development of effective strategies aimed at preventing alcohol and substance use within this demographic—particularly by policymakers, public health professionals, and mental health experts—has the potential to reduce mortality rates

Delayed intracranial hemorrhage (DICH) is a rare type of traumatic brain injury, described as the delayed presentation of hemorrhage on computed tomography or at autopsy several hours to weeks after traumatic events, despite a normal finding at the initial neuroimaging. It generally has a good prognosis, and operative management is seldom required. We present the case of a 66-year-old male who died due to intracranial hemorrhage nearly two days after a traffic accident. According to the medical records, he was on anticoagulant therapy, and his wife reported that he had experienced nausea 24 hours after discharge. At autopsy, a left-sided subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and contralateral hemorrhage in the pons were observed macroscopically, while diffuse axonal injury in the pontine parenchyma was identified microscopically. The cause of death was determined to be traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, and a causality was established between the traumatic incident and the fatal outcome. This case report emphasizes that accurate causal evaluation of the condition requires recognizing its etiology, clinical manifestation, and risk factors, while underscoring the need for effective clinical strategies focused on patient and family education regarding warning symptoms and timely emergency presentation.