The significance of the settling of blood into dependent and soft tissues as evidence for death by throttling and choking (author's transl)]

14 fresh cadavers of adult persons were placed with the head or body tilted in atypical positions 3 to 65 hours after death. The persons concerned were neither asphyxiated nor had they suffered cranial trauma. Hypostasis in the head and neck occurred more rapidly and intensively the deeper the cranial parts of the body were placed. In the simulated cadaver positions, artificial ecchymoses were observed in only a few places, mainly in the eyelids, the conjunctiva, the galea and the temporal muscles except when the head was vertically downwards. Just as with the postmortem haematomas, the hypostatic settling to the plane of the heart was decisive.     

Forensic aspects of digoxin-poisoning: toxicological and morphological findings (author's transl)]

Case report. A 82 year old woman died 80 min after accidental ingestion of 5 mg beta-methyl-digoxin. The autopsy and the histological examination revealed non-specific alterations due to shock and preexisting coronary heart disease. Digoxin levels in various fluids and tissues were estimated by radioimmunoassay: bloodplasma 20--25 ng/ml, liquor 10--13 ng/ml, liver 100--110 ng/g, kidney 130--145 ng/g; the gastric fluid contained 0,6 mg. Forensic aspects of glycosid-intoxication, especially of the varying concentrations in different tissues, are discussed.     

Behaviour of p-nitrophenol-glucuronide in hydrolysis with mineral acids (author's transl)]

The behaviour of p-nitrophenol and synthetic p-nitrophenol-glucuronide with mineral acids has been investigated. With sulfuric acid (33%) about 93% of the glucuronide derivative have been hydrolysed; the solution was heated in open vessel for 15 sec. With hydrochloric acid (6%) only about 65% of the conjugated p-nitrophenol have been converted to the free form. No losses were detected, when free p-nitrophenol was treated under the same conditions. Three other methods of hydrolysis have been applied.