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.     

On the estimation of lay-time by measurements of rigor mortis

Measurements of the torgue to overcome rigor mortis on the legs of 101 male human cadavers at 5 degrees C are reported. There seems to exist an upper limit, which is dependent on the lay-time, above which no value occurs, but below which every value may be found. By calculating the 90% tolerance limits for lay-times grouped at 12-hourly intervals, this upper limit was found to decrease exponentially with lay-time. This may be used for the estimation of maximum lay-times from rigor mortis measurements.