ABSTRACT
Drowning death occurs due to occlusion of the respiratory orifices or air passages by water or any other fluid. Delayed drowning refers to the nonfatal incident and delayed death following an episode of submersion. Drowning victim passes through a number of stages before taking the terminal gasps and resulting death. Drowning is also classified into different varieties based on the nature of liquid medium, lung findings, secondary complications, etc. Postmortem examination of such cases may show some characteristic features like fine froth, features of asphyxia, wrinkling, bleaching and postmortem lividity of glove and stocking pattern. Internal examination in such cases may show emphysema aquosum, edema aquosum, Paultaf's hemorrhage, etc. As most of the drowning cases lack classical signs, several laboratory tests emerge from time to time to diagnose drowning deaths. Recent advent of virtual autopsy has paved way for exploring more possible methods to diagnose drowning deaths. Differentiating ante-mortem drowning from postmortem drowning and ascertaining the cause of death is a challenging task. Manner of death in drowning is another debatable topic, and it is important for the autopsy surgeon to consider the possible circumstantial evidences and other related findings before concluding his opinion.
