Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Am J Phys Anthropol 2021 04 4;174(4):646-660. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Department of Archaeology and Centre for Forensic Research, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.

Objectives: Biological mortality bias is the idea that individuals who perish (non-survivors) are biologically distinct from those who survive (survivors). If biological mortality bias is large enough, bioarchaeological studies of nonsurvivors (skeletal samples) cannot accurately represent the experiences of the survivors of that population. This effect is particularly problematic for the study of juvenile individuals, as growth is particularly sensitive to environmental insults. Read More

Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2019 Dec 30;57(6):406-412. Epub 2019 Dec 30.

Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Área Académica de Historia y Antropología. Pachuca, Hidalgo, México.

During 18 century in New Spain, the strong link between religion and science hindered scientific growth. Conservatism and scholasticism pervaded educational institutions. Within this restricted context, a scientific community conformed mainly by creoles fulfilled their desire and need to know more as they had access to European books, which allowed erudite leading figures, such as Dr. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020 07 16;103(1):494-500. Epub 2020 Apr 16.

Department of Population Health, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) despite effective treatments. To study the sociocultural and health system barriers to care, we conducted a qualitative social autopsy study of patients who died from febrile illness in northern Tanzania. From December 2016 through July 2017, we conducted in-depth interviews in Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions with a purposive sample of 20 family members of patients who had died at two regional referral hospitals. Read More

Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2019 Dec;40(4):347-350

Department of Forensic Medicine, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale, Turkey.

The autopsy maintains its significance both forensically and medically despite enormous developments in antemortem and postmortem diagnostic methods. The present study probes the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of religious officials in our city toward autopsy and make an evaluation of how religion and culture affect those factors.The study consists of 219 Imams (male) and 69 Quran instructors (female) who serve in urban and rural regions of Kahramanmaras and approved informed consent forms. Read More

Homo 2019 Nov;70(3):225-232

Institute of Evolutionary Medicine (IME)-University of Zurich-Zurich, CH 8057-Switzerland.

Although the practice of autopsy on the Pope's corpse was performed from the 16 century, autopsy reports are only rarely analysed, and never with the aim of investigating the real causes of the death from a concomitant medical and historical point of view. Here, for the first time, we report on the discovery of new unpublished documents from the Vatican Secret Archives and their investigation by a scientific and inter-disciplinary approach. This analysis allows us to draw new conclusions on the true cause of Leo XII's mysterious death. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2019 Aug 28;19(1):314. Epub 2019 Aug 28.

National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, ICMR, Mumbai, India.

Background: A disproportionately high proportion of maternal deaths (99 percent) in the world occur in low and middle income countries, of which 90 percent is contributed by Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This study uses the effective "Three Delays" model to assess the socio-cultural barriers associated with maternal mortality in West Bengal, India.

Methods: It was a retrospective mixed methods study, which used facility-based as well as community-based approaches to explore factors associated with maternal deaths. Read More

Int J Legal Med 2020 May 15;134(3):1203-1212. Epub 2019 Aug 15.

Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital, Goethe University, Kennedyallee 104, 60596, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Background: (Brain) death, willingness of organ donation and autopsy are relevant questions of life and death. Religious beliefs are expected to have a significant influence on individual attitudes.

Methods: People with an active relationship to a religion were surveyed about brain death, organ transplantation and autopsy using an anonymous questionnaire. Read More

Med Leg J 2019 Sep 3;87(3):156-158. Epub 2019 Jul 3.

Forensic Medicine Department, Rasoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Crimes against a person's physical integrity are a serious and consequential felony in the Islamic criminal law. A war veteran and victim of chemical warfare deceased at the age of 69 was referred to Kahrizak Legal Medicine Center, Tehran, Iran for autopsy. According to Iranian law, deceased war veterans should undergo autopsy to have the potential damage to their organs due to chemical warfare identified, so that due compensation can be awarded to their heirs. Read More

PLoS One 2019 22;14(2):e0201424. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Heritages, Transmissions, Inheritances (PaTHs) Institute & Department of Physics, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.

The reliquary of Jacques de Vitry, a prominent clergyman and theologian in the early 13th century, has experienced several transfers over the last centuries, which seriously question the attribution of the remains to the late Cardinal. Uncertainty about the year of his birth poses an additional question regarding his age at death in 1240. The reliquary, located in the Saint Marie d'Oigines church, Belgium, was reopened in 2015 for an interdisciplinary study around his relics as well as the Treasure of Oignies, a remarkable cultural heritage notably built from Jacques de Vitry's donation. Read More

Med Hypotheses 2019 Jan 30;122:180-183. Epub 2018 Nov 30.

New Mexico Health Enhancement and Marathon Clinics Research Foundation, 361 Big Horn Ridge Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA; New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, NM, USA.

Many world-renowned scientists and artists had autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We suggest that the French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) also had ASD. As a boy, he demonstrated his mastery of language, mathematics and science. Read More

J Relig Health 2020 Aug;59(4):1838-1842

Dipartimento di Medicina, Ospedale "San Giovanni di Dio", via Fatebenefratelli, 34, 34170, Gorizia, Italy.

Dante places the sinners who promoted scandals, schism, and discord in the ninth Ditch of the Inferno. Among those is also the Prophet Muhammad. Describing the Prophet's punishment, Dante resorts to technical terms and vulgar expressions. Read More

PLoS One 2018 9;13(8):e0202023. Epub 2018 Aug 9.

Department of Histopathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Background: Perinatal and paediatric autopsy rates are at historically low levels with declining uptake due to dislike of the invasiveness of the procedure, and religious objections particularly amongst Muslim and Jewish parents. Less invasive methods of autopsy including imaging with and without tissue sampling have been shown to be feasible alternatives. We sought to investigate attitudes including religious permissibility and potential uptake amongst members of the Muslim and Jewish communities in the United Kingdom. Read More

Br J Radiol 2018 Nov 14;91(1091):20180295. Epub 2018 Aug 14.

1 Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK.

Objective:: People's views regarding autopsy vary according to their cultural and religious beliefs. This paper aims to determine the opinions towards this procedure among Muslims resident in Libya and Muslims and non-Muslims resident in the UK. Our long-term goal is to improve autopsy rates; whether conventional or through the use of post-mortem imaging. Read More

Transplant Proc 2018 Mar;50(2):312-315

Proyecto Colaborativo Internacional Donante ("International Collaborative Donor Project"), Murcia, Spain; Department of Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; Transplant Unit, Surgery Service, IMIB-Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain.

Background: The Puerto Rican population represents one of the largest immigration groups in Florida, and this has an impact on the organ transplant donation process. Our aim was to analyze attitudes toward organ donation among Puerto Ricans who currently reside in the state of Florida (USA).

Methods: The population screened consisted of individuals >15 years old, who were born in Puerto Rico, living in Florida, and awaiting organs for transplant. Read More

Arch Dis Child 2018 06 8;103(6):572-578. Epub 2018 Feb 8.

Genetics and Genomic Medicine, The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.

Objective: To assess health professionals' and coroners' attitudes towards non-minimally and minimally invasive autopsy in the perinatal and paediatric setting.

Methods: A qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Data were analysed thematically. Read More

Anaesthesist 2018 02 11;67(2):118-125. Epub 2017 Dec 11.

Institut für Medizinische Soziologie und Rehabilitationswissenschaft, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Deutschland.

Background: The German post-mortem organ donation rate has dropped by one third since 2010. Furthermore, 958 patients died in 2015 in Germany while waiting for an organ. To decrease organ shortage, an amendment of the transplantation law was established in 2012. Read More

Med J Malaysia 2017 10;72(5):278-281

International Medical Center, Department of Medical Ethics, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: The ever-increasing technological advances of Western medicine have created new ethical issues awaiting answers and response. The use of genetic therapy, organ transplant, milk-banking, end-of-life care and euthanasia are of paramount importance to the medical students and need to be addressed.

Methods: A series of searches were conducted of Medline databases published in English between January 2000 and January 2017 with the following keywords: medical ethics, syllabus, Islam, jurisprudence. Read More

J Relig Health 2018 Apr;57(2):649-661

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, 13400 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ, 85259, USA.

Death is defined in the Quran with a single criterion of irreversible separation of the ruh (soul) from the body. The Quran is a revelation from God to man, and the primary source of Islamic knowledge. The secular concept of death by neurological criteria, or brain death, is at odds with the Quranic definition of death. Read More

Palliat Support Care 2017 10;15(5):609-622

Division of Hematology,Mayo Clinic,Rochester,Minnesota.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the religious/spiritual beliefs of followers of the five major world religions about frequently encountered medical situations at the end of life (EoL).

Method: This was a systematic review of observational studies on the religious aspects of commonly encountered EoL situations. The databases used for retrieving studies were: Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus. Read More

Pathologe 2017 Sep;38(5):396-401

Institut für Geschichte, Theorie und Ethik der Medizin, Uniklinik der RWTH Aachen, Wendlingweg 2, 52074, Aachen, Deutschland.

Background: Autopsy quotas in Germany are persistently low. By way of providing an explanation, the (ethical) reservations of the general population against autopsies are presented.

Objective: Normative assessment of clinical autopsies, elaboration of ethically relevant arguments for and against autopsies and review of the suspected reservations of the general population. Read More

Transpl Int 2017 Oct 17;30(10):1020-1031. Epub 2017 Jul 17.

Transplant Unit, Surgery Service, IMIB - Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, Murcia, Spain.

The Latin American (LA) population resident in the USA is a growing subgroup of the population. To find out the structure of attitude towards organ donation in the LA population resident in Florida (USA). A sample was taken of LA residents in Florida, randomized and stratified by nationality, age and sex (n = 1524). Read More

BJOG 2018 Jan 21;125(2):172-181. Epub 2017 Mar 21.

UCL Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.

Background: Postmortem examination is the single most useful investigation in providing information to parents about why their baby or child died. Despite this, uptake remains well below the recommended 75%.

Objective: To address the question 'what are the barriers and motivators to perinatal, prenatal and paediatric PM examination?'

Search Strategy: Key databases including Pubmed and CINAHL; Cochrane library, websites of relevant patient organisations, hand search of key journals, first and last authors and references. Read More

PLoS One 2016 28;11(12):e0167988. Epub 2016 Dec 28.

University of Toulouse, French National Center for Scientific Research, UMR 5288, Toulouse, France.

The evolution of funeral practices from the Middle Ages through the Modern era in Europe is generally seen as a process of secularization. The study, through imaging and autopsy, of two mummies, five lead urns containing hearts, and more than six hundred skeletons of nobles and clergymen from a Renaissance convent in Brittany has led us to reject this view. In addition to exceptional embalming, we observed instances in which hearts alone had been extracted, a phenomenon that had never before been described, and brains alone as well, and instances in which each spouse's heart had been placed on the other's coffin. Read More

Transplant Proc 2016 Sep;48(7):2482-2484

Department of Nursing, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.

Background: Nursing students, as future professionals, have an enormous impact on the opinion of the rest of the population on topics of organ donation and transplantation (ODT). The objective of this study was to analyze the attitudes of nursing students at the University of Bialystok toward ODT, and to determine the factors that affect ithemt.

Methods: Academic year 2011-2012. Read More

Lancet 2016 Aug;388(10044):559

School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy.

Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2016 Jun;37(2):127-31

From the *Department of Dammam Forensic and Legal Medicine Centre, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; and †Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Beni Suef University, Egypt.

This article is a review, from a Saudi Arabian perspective, of selected historical Arabic books and recent medicolegal journal articles on 4 current controversial issues: medical ethics, forensic autopsies, end-of-life decisions, and genetic profiling. This article demonstrates the flexibility of the Islamic medical jurisprudence to accommodate medicolegal issues. Read More