It’s one of the most sudden and shocking causes of cardiac arrest, a seemingly harmless blow to the chest, followed by collapse. No broken ribs. No massive trauma. Just a perfectly timed impact that sends the heart into chaos. Commotio cordis occurs when a blunt impact to the chest, strikes directly over the heart during a critical 20–30 millisecond window of the cardiac cycle. If that impact happens during ventricular repolarization (the upstroke of the T-wave), it can trigger ventricular fibri

Blunt force trauma leaves distinct signatures on the skull—and each one tells a different story. From depressed fractures to radiating cracks, we’re breaking down the types of blunt trauma and what they reveal about the force, weapon, and angle of impact. A forensic deep dive into how the skull records violence. | The Bone Museum