'Crocodile flash' burns are seen in:
Ans. b (High voltage electrical bums). (Ref. Parkih's textbook of FMT, 6th ed., pg 4.173)External features of electrocution (high voltage electrical burns)# Evidence of fatal electrocution can vary widely at autopsy, including the possibility of no skin marks being found at all.# At the point of entry, firm contact with the electrical conductor results in the current passing through the skin, heating up the tissue fluids, producing steam and possibly splitting the epidermis or the epidermal-dermal junction. The result is the production of a raised blister, which collapses on cooling after the current is stopped- the so-called 'electrical mark'.# The entry mark in this case would appear as a raised grey or white ring with an umbilicated centre. If the initial contact is less firm, a spark may jump from the conductor to the skin, producing very high local temperatures, which melt a small area of keratin on the skin.# In these incidences, the entry lesion appears after cooling as a raised, hard brown nodule, and is termed a 'spark lesion'.# Surrounding the electric mark is also commonly found an 'areola' of blanched skin due to arteriolar spasm caused by the effects of the current on vessel walls.# In high-voltage bums, sparks may jump a significantly greater distance (several cms) giving multiple spark lesions and producing a 'crocodile skin' effect. Sometimes, minimal marks are found: there may be small white and flattened blisters, usually found on the palms of the hand, which are easily missed at autopsy.# If the current is allowed to continue passing through the body for a considerable length of time, extensive charring and damage to the skin and underlying tissues may be present at autopsy, resulting in 'electrical burns'.# Sometimes, extensive 'flash burns' may be evident on the victim as any other thermal burn, but these are often produced by current passing by the body as opposed to through the body.Internal appearances# Significant findings in the internal organs of electrocution fatalities are rare or often non-specific because the conductive electrolytes present in the internal tissues means that any current passing through them is usually diffused so that little thermal damage is produced. Non-specific findings have included epicardial petechiae in death by cardiac arrest, and pleural and intracerebral petechiae with congestion and cyanosis of the face and lungs in respiratory arrest.
Frostbite
High voltage electrical bums
Chemical bums
Lightening
Injuries