Methods of making the plaster copies of skulls for the medical and criminalistic identification of individuals

A possibility was studied to use the plaster copies of skulls in the forensic medical identification of personality by applying the craniofacial method. No dependence was found between the plaster casts and the moulding types. Differences between the same craniometric sizes in the skull and in its cast are of an incidental nature. Such incidental deviation is related with an accuracy of determining the localization of craniometric points and with an instrumental precision of measuring devices. The necessity is substantiated that, while making a craniofacial examination, it is necessary to mark all anthropometric points in the skull cast, with the original being a control. The use of a plaster skull cast is possible in those cases, when the burial of the remains must be done in full.     

Hypophyseal damage in persons with cerebrocranial injuries and who died in the hospital

The pituitary was examined in patients with craniocerebral injuries who died in hospital in various periods after treatment. Control group consisted of victims died at the site of accident. The results indicate the significance of examining the pituitary in craniocerebral injuries for the diagnosis of thanatogenesis, particularly in patients died in hospital. Causes of traumatic changes in the organ were determined, highly incident in the practice of forensic medical experts: directly during injury, as a result of skull bone fractures; during development of dislocation syndrome and in disorders of blood and lymph circulation in the brain matter; resultant from augmenting traumatic edema of the brain.     

Clinico-morphological parameters of heroin abuse and pathology connected with it

Morphological manifestations of narcomania in heroin users are described. Diseases associated with heroin narcomania and causes of death of heroin users are presented. Morphological manifestations at the site of injections and inflammatory reactions in parenchymatous organs are characterized. The authors pay special attention to the productive inflammation which can serve as one of the signs that confirm narcomania in cases with parenteral injections of crude heroin. The authors refer the granulomas to toxic allergic form of granulomatous hypersensitive inflammation.     

A clinico-morphological analysis of the traumatic substrates to cerebral injuries in different inertial loads on the brain]

The relationships between the inert tension of the head and the morphologic substrates of brain injuries were under study. A comparative clinical and morphologic analysis of lethal contusion and axonal injuries underlie this investigation. Differences in the neurologic semeiotics and CT data in such injuries are presented. The authors discuss the mechanisms of the physical processes in the skull, resulting in focal and diffuse injuries of the brain. Quantitative assessment of the traumatic cerebral substrates is given and relations of these parameters to the conditions of the head trauma (the direction of the external injurious factor action) and the clinical picture are shown. The results of this study may be useful in establishing some circumstances of craniocerebral injuries.     

The clinico-morphological basis for a diagnosis of diffuse axonal brain damage in head trauma

The most typical neurologic signs and variants of computer-tomographic cerebral picture in diffuse axonal lesion of the brain are presented. Dynamics of pathomorphologic changes depending on duration of posttraumatic periods is detected.     

Study of anatomical and topographical peculiarities of the mucosal pattern on the dorsal surface of the tongue in the immediate and late postmortem periods

The authors present information about anatomical and topographical peculiarities of the patterns of the mucous membrane at the backside surface of the tongue in the immediate and late postmortem periods. The apparent dynamics of the structural changes on this surface does not exclude the possibility of using them as the criteria for personality identification within 1 month after death.     

Characteristics of morphological manifestations of anaphylactic shock in response to the administration of pharmaceutical preparations encountered in the practice of forensic medical expert-histologist

The authors report the results of a forensic medical investigation of 6 cases of death associated with the administration of pharmaceutical products documented by forensic medical experts of the Russian Centre of Forensic Medical Expertise. The results of the study are compared with the clinical data and summarized using the methods of tanatogenetic analysis. The following main clinical variants of iatrogenic anaphylactic shock (IAS) are distinguished: bronchospastic IAS (n = 1), asphyxic IAS (n = 1), hemodynamic IAS (n = 3), and combined (bronchospastic plus hemodynamic) IAS (n = 1). The signs of all these variants are described allowing for their diagnostics and differentiation diagnostics. These data can be used for the purpose of forensic medical diagnostics and elucidation of the mechanisms of tanatogenesis.     

The scoring and rating system for the estimation of the teaching efficiency in forensic medicine

The authors developed a system of criteria for the evaluation of the results of education of forensic medical students based on the scoring and rating scale. The major requirements for the organization of academic activities are considered. It is emphasized that the compliance with these requirements is an indispensable prerequisite for the introduction of the above system in the training routine at the Department of Forensic Medicine.     

The comparative assessment of the practical value of the currently employed methods for the recognition and species specificity of the blood

The objective of the present study was to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of the HemDirect method on test-plates (Seratec) for detecting human hemoglobin (HHb). These characteristics were compared with those of other widely used methods designed for the detection of blood traces, viz. thin layer chromatography, hemotest, spectrofluorimetry, and identification of blood species specificity (by countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis in agar and on the acetate-cellulose film). It was shown that the HemDirect test is highly specific and far more sensitive than other techniques used for the same purpose in the practical work. It can be recommended as the method of choice for the detection of blood microtraces.     

Gas chromatography/tandem mass-spectrometry assay for trace amounts of 3'-hydroxystanozolol

3'-Hydroxystanosolol detection in biological fluids at pg levels by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry is described. Gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry results can be confirmed with gas chromatography/tandem mass-spectrometry.