A fatal case of adult small bowel volvulus

Abstract

A 56-year-old man was hit by a car while riding a bicycle, immediately brought to the hospital, and treated. Four days after the accident, he reported abdominal pain and vomiting in the night, and he died the next day. A forensic autopsy was performed, and almost of the entire small bowel had gangrenous swelling. The mesentery was twisted 180° with clockwise rotation along the vascular axis, and pre-autopsy computed tomography scan showed a whirl sign.

Keywords: Computed tomography; Small bowel volvulus; Whirl sign.