Beitrage zur gerichtlichen Medizin最新文献

A married woman was found dead with indications of suicide by electricity (household-voltage). On coroner's inquest (typical electric lesions at the wrist) and the result of police investigation, there was no indication of third party involvement. The cadaver war firstly released to burial, but on account of indication of conflicts between the married couple, a forensic autopsy was arranged. The most important pathological finding was a fresh puncture between L3/L4. On toxicological investigation, toxic concentrations of the local anaesthetic prilocaine were found in liquor and organs. Cause of death was central respiratory- and circulatory depression. The husband, an anaesthesist, blamed he was assisting the suicide of his wife at her request. He was found guilty by reasons of manslaughter but not for murder.

The presence of cocaine, morphine and methadone in sweat samples obtained after stimulation of the eccrine sweat glands, from drugs users after six drugs-free days, was investigated. The stimulation of the sweat elimination was proved using pilocarpine-iontophoresis every hour for 7 hours. The drugs concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. Consequently, the values measured represent the sum of the drug and its metabolites. Measurable levels of cocaine, morphine and methadone were obtained after the third stimulation of the glands.

17 rentiers from Hamburg took part in a trip with a covered wagon in the Siegerland. In a rugged field-path a screw in the bottom of the wagon, which was deficiently reconstructed, got loose. One of the benches tipped down so that the passengers who sat there fell backwards on the path and were covered by the rack, the lattice and the tilt. 6 persons in the age from 76 to 85 years died in the scene of accident. 3 others sustained contusions. The autopsy of the victims showed no signs of external violence, especially fractures of bones and no internal injuries. There were only found asphyctic petechial bleedings in the conjunctiva, partly in the mucous membrane of the mouth, in the facial region and the body. The internal findings corresponded to the age. The cause of death was an external, mechanical hindering of respiration because of the chest compression by the heavy wreckage.

Puncture of a major cervical veins for insertion of a central venous catheter is a standard-method in resuscitation performed in emergency conditions. Even extensive lesion-marks due to punction are customarily seen by medico-legal practitioners, but in detail they may cause difficulties in differential diagnosis, when lesion marks caused by acts of violence directed straight against the neck are to be differentiated. Especially in the primary phase of inquiry about crimes of homicide these injuries due to punction are forensically important. Therefore frequency and methods of resuscitation efforts were evaluated in 453 crimes of homicide, committed in Göttingen and Berlin (subjects given by the Free University). Findings of the present study were that resuscitation measures were taken merely to a rate of 25%, and in proceeding a central venous catheter was not obligatorily inserted, moreover proceeding being regionally different. In Berlin a central venous catheter was inserted in 17 cases out of 77 resuscitated homicidal injuries, the rate being 24 cases out of 36 cases in Göttingen. In altogether 8 crimes of homicide committed by immediate attacks against the neck, a cervical vena was punctured, findings later being extensive effusions of blood marked around the tapped spot. The different ways to perform resuscitation may justify to point also at the forensic interest to discover the facts together with complete diagnosis in cases of crimes of homicide. That is why it may be vindicated to try to find out a proceeding, which does not lessen the effectiveness of resuscitative manoeuvres, yet by means of which forensical concerns are taken into consideration, too.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

New developments of scientific basic research may be of theoretical as well as of practical significance for forensic medicine. This will be demonstrated for two examples: fuzzy logic and fractal geometry.

Investigations were performed with the root of one hair torn out 6 times in parallel. Yield of DNA was about the same with 6 extraction methods tested. Hairs stored at RT up to 8 weeks in non sterile environment showed the same result as deeply frozen hairs. Hairs of one test person could not be typed in repeated investigations, whereas hairs of another person could successfully be typed in every case (n > 100). 35 hairs of 66 samples investigated from 11 other persons could be typed.

429 SIDS cases were investigated in a retrospective study. For this study, the deaths in which at least one brother or sister had died under comparable circumstances were evaluated. The 429 babies who had died comprised 17 multiple birth babies (3.7%) including 15 twin and two triplet babies. Eleven cases (2.6%) were brothers or sisters of SIDS victims. In three cases, relatives of the baby's mother had died of sudden infant death. A comparison of the various case groups did not reveal any patho-morphologically significant differences between the groups or differences from other SIDS cases. All the multiple birth babies were immature and premature babies. There was a raised incidence of poor socio-economic conditions in the sibling group. The results are significant for parent counselling, any preventive measures and the detection of concurrent (in particular, unnatural) causes of death.

Diaphanoscopic postmortal examination of blunt impact injuries to the head sometimes revealed non-diaphanous regions deriving from intraossary haematomata. Precise delimitation of these haematomata in the diploe from haematopoietic foci or neoplastic lesions was possible by means of histological examination. The location of the intraossary skull-cap haematomata coincided with corresponding injuries of the scalp as contusions and lacerations; they were often accompanied by fissural bone lesions and linear fractures. As such a diploetic haemorrhage represents a facultative counterpart of scalp contusion, its demonstration allows conclusions to be drawn as to the area of the impact, even if, owing to postmortal changes, the scalp is no longer assessable.

The blood alcohol concentration, the urinary alcohol content and the urinary volume were determined in 245 autopsy cases. Irrespective of the bladder filling, a large variation of the UAC/BAC ratios could be detected in BAC values of up to about 1 g/kg. The ratios were very much more stable at higher blood alcohol concentrations, but showed a certain dependence on the degree of bladder filling. With the increase of urinary volumes, the mean ratio rose. Provided that blood alcohol concentrations were in excess of 1 g/kg, the UAC/BAC ratio was 1.3 at a volume of less than 5 ml, about 1.4 at up to 100 ml, between 1.4 and 1.5 up to 200 ml and about 1.5 with a volume in excess of 200 ml. The differences can be explained by the real-life conditions with regard to drinking behavior and micturition. Accordingly, the urinary volume is also to be taken into consideration for practical purposes.