Determination of the human age based on the characteristics of the bone tissue

The principal characteristics of the investigations concerning estimation of the human age are presented. The new high-precision methods for the microosteometric determination of the biological age of man have been developed. The methodological basis for the application of microosteomeric data to the computer-assisted analysis of the images has been created. Taken together, the results of the present study guarantee the high accuracy of the measurements, save labour time, and expand the possibilities for the documentation and control of the experts' work.     

Forensic medical assessment of the mechanisms of development of gunshot lesions caused by elastic destructive agents

This paper reports the results of analysis of the data obtained in experimental studies and practical expert assessments of body injuries inflicted by rubber balls for traumatic weapons. The causes accounting for the polymorphism of such injuries and the mechanisms of their development were elucidated by means of damage simulation taking into consideration the physical and dynamic properties of elastic ball-type destructive agents and the morphological structure of different anatomical regions of the human body. The results of the study may be of interest for differential diagnostics of gunshot lesions caused by elastic destructive agents.     

Book Review

Women Playwrights in England, Ireland, and Scotland, 1660–1823. David D. Mann and Susan Garland Mann with Camille Gamier. Bloomington &; Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1996. 432 pp. $57.50 cl.     

Morphology of hairs on the head and other parts of the body in the residents of Africa

The morphology of hairs from the head, beard, chest, armpits, and pubis was studied in indigenous population of Sudan, Sierra-Leone, Cote d'Ivoir, Ruanda, Nigeria, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Zaire, Southern African Republic, Angola, Benin, and Guinea Bissau. A total of 327 hair specimens were examined. A number of new parameters of hairs were determined: thickness, number of cuticle pattern lines per mm, optic edge pattern, cuticle patterns, methods for detecting the cortical and medullar layers, width of hair layers and their transverse sections. The resultant morphological signs are new specific signs for African residents (Negroid) which can be used in forensic medical studies for identifying the race appurtenance of hairs.     

Medical anthropological aspects of hand phalanx dermatoglyphics

Main and middle phalanx skin patterns represent a polymorphic hereditary system of signs practically not studied in anthropology, but interesting for forensic medicine and criminology from the viewpoint of expert evaluation of relation and personality identification. Based on a vast scope of data (600 hand impressions of 300 subjects from Russian families), a classification of patterns on the main and middle finger phalanges has been developed and their incidence evaluated. The proposed classification includes 15 types and 40 subtypes. The incidence of individual patterns on phalanges of different site and order has been determined. The problem of genetic determination, i.e. inheritance of certain patterns from father and mother, remains open and requires a special research.     

Fatal poisoning from Nicotiana glauca leaves: identification of anabasine by gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry

Death of a worker occurred after ingestion of unknown amounts of Nicotiana glauca G leaves. The leaves were cooked after having been mistakenly considered to be spices of a type which grow in Thailand. After ingestion, two Thai workers collapsed, one with asystolia. Resuscitation efforts were successful only for one of the victims. A GC/MS method was used for the identification of anabasine as the main constituent in the leaves, food extract, blood, and the urine of the deceased. Lacking a standard, it was necessary to interpret the GC/MS spectrum to identify anabasine and establish its presence.