Face and neck injuries due to resuscitation versus throttling

Face and neck injuries of 21 patients who died of other causes than mechanic asphyxia and who were resuscitated in connection to dying were analyzed during a 3-year period, 1980-1982. The injuries were predominantly of the type nail impression marks (85%) and showed a regular symmetric distribution tending to form circles around the nostrils and mouth. Injuries inflicted upon mouth-to-mouth ventilation were localized to the nose and at jaw-thrust to the mandibular margins and were easy to differ from those due to throttling. Injuries inflicted on the cheeks upon removal of vomit from the mouth were similar to those seen after violent oral occlusion and those occurring at carotid pulse palpation as indicated by throttling. No fractures of the laryngeal skeleton and no conjunctival haemorrhages were seen.     

Agarose gel electrophoresis of human erythrocyte glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT EC 2.6.1.2)

The method of choice to determine erythrocyte glutamate-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) including rare variants was starch gel electrophoresis. Methods using agarose as gel medium were not reported to our knowledge. We present an adapted method using the Tris/maleate buffer system and an agarose of low endosmosis. The common as well as rare variant types of GPT were quickly and reliably separated. In addition, a method for the consecutive determination of esterase D (ESD) and GPT on the same gel using the malic acid buffer system is described.     

Stability of plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoproteins B and A-I during the early postmortem period

The stability of plasma lipids and apolipoproteins during the early postmortem period was studied by taking four duplicate blood samples from eight cadavers 2, 6, 12, and 24 h after death. The bodies were kept at +4 degrees C. The plasma samples were analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein B (apo B), and apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I). In TC, values rose by 6 and 11% in two cases, and in six cases diminished 3 to 15% during the first 6 h compared to values obtained 2 h postmortem. The greatest changes were a continuing rise in one case by 33% and a fall by 21% in another case during 24 h. In TG values marked changes took place including one case with a rise of 67% within 24 h. The concentrations of apo B rose by 9 to 11% in three cases and fell by 3 and 4% in two cases during 6 h, but during the whole study period a rise up to 78% occurred. In the concentrations of apo A-I, cases fell by as much as 42% in 6 h, and in one case rose by 20% during 6 h. The results indicate that unpredictable fluctuations occur in plasma lipid and apolipoprotein values within 24 h after death, and they should be interpreted cautiously if the samples have been taken after a prolonged postmortem period.     

Chloroquine as a poison in murder. Report of fatalities after criminal or suicidal chloroquine administration

Presented is a case of murder by means of chloroquine, committed on a 36-year-old male. The wife of the deceased had confessed to have secretely administered chloroquine-containing tablets to her husband. She was lawfully sentenced to life-imprisonment. The toxicological findings of this case are compared to the results of two chloroquine suicide cases and discussed in the context of the referring literature. An additional case where chloroquine intoxication was doubtful is introduced because of the unusual circumstances under which it occurred.     

Postmortem tissue embolisms. Report of 3 cases

In three cases of autopsy (cause of death - intoxication and drowning) we found in the lung intraalveolar und intravasal lymphatic tissue and bone-marrow. The results cannot be explained with violence during lifetime, but in tow cases as an effect of fracture of rips caused by external cardiacmassage, in one case by embalming with injection of conservation fluids.