Fluidity of cadaveric blood after sudden death: Part I. Postmortem fibrinolysis and plasma catecholamine level

In rats, fibrinolytic activity and plasma catecholamine levels increased rapidly after death. Postmortem fibrinolysis was affected by the method of sacrifice, but catecholamine level was not always affected. Immediately after death, the plasma adrenalin level was higher than the noradrenalin level, but then adrenalin remained unchanged or tended to decrease while noradrenalin tended to increase gradually with time. In human subjects after rapid death, the plasma catecholamine and fibrinolytic activity levels were high. However, in cases after slow death they were low.     

Medicolegal aspects of death of patients with cerebral palsy in Japan

A total of 24 cases of patients who had had cerebral palsy, recorded between 1980 and 1986, in the Annuals of the Medico-Legal Autopsy Cases in Japan, were investigated to determine their ages and causes of death. Fourteen died of illness, four in accidents, and six by murder. Most of those dead of illness had been under the age of 16, and the disease most frequently cited as a cause of death was pneumonia. The four persons who died by accident were over 16 years old. All of the six murder victims were killed by their mother.     

A complex method for determining age by tooth status using analog computers]

Combination of roentgenography with direct image magnification and its analysis by medical iconics methods increase significantly possibility of age determination by teeth status (prediction accuracy by upper canine tooth is 99.8% +/- 0.81 year). Adaptive character of change in teeth density over the period of their functioning was detected. Integrative metric index--age metric index--is an objective criterion of age status of a tooth.     

The trial of Louis Riel: a study in Canadian psychiatry.

The Riel case in 1885 is one of the most striking cases in the history of forensic psychiatry. On the one hand, Riel was the hero of the underprivileged, French Canadian-Indian halfbreeds whose futile revolt in the Canadian Northwest captured the imaginations of French Canadians in Quebec, for whom he became a hero and a martyr. Prior review in this journal has detailed the clinical data referrable to his mental condition. This paper reviews the actual trial, the questionable management by the defense, and the inadequate preparations by the defense psychiatrists. Subsequent to the sentence of death, the Canadian prime minister, Macdonald, ordered a medical review, more or less dictating the result. For whatever reason, the medical reports when made public did not fully reflect the actuality of what occurred. The result was a questionable execution, the creation of a martyr, and a spark for the cultural conflict that continues to bedevil Canada.     

Inhibition of non-specific leukocyte esterase activity. Absence of monocyte esterase activity due to phosphoric and thiophosphoric acid ester intoxication

In vitro evaluation of the effect of five insecticidal phosphoric and 11 thiophosphoric acid esters on different, non-specific human leukocytes esterases indicated that most of the organic phosphor compounds studied inhibited the activity of neutral alpha-naphthylacetate esterase, alpha-naphthylbutyryl esterase, and naphthol AS acetate esterase, i.e. the monocyte esterases. The extent of inhibition was dose dependent; the inhibiting dose being identical for the various non-specific esterases. Reactivation with Obidoxim was not successful. Monocyte esterase activity in a human survivor of E 605 intoxication was detectable only after serum acetylcholinesterase had returned to normal levels. The organic phosphor compound studied, however, inhibited neither acid alpha-naphthylacetate esterase nor naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase activity.     

Associated postmortem dental findings as an aid to personal identification.

The use of the unique features of the human dentition to aid in personal identification is well accepted within the forensic field. Indeed, despite advances in DNA and other identification methodologies, comparative dental identifications still play a major role in identifying the victims of violence, disaster or other misfortune. The classic comparative dental identification employs the use of postmortem and antemortem dental records (principally written notes and radiographs) to determine similarities and exclude discrepancies. In many cases the tentative identification of the individual is unknown and therefore antemortem records cannot be located. In such a situation a dental profile of the individual is developed to aid the search for the individual's identity. With such a profile a forensic odontologist can identify and report indicators for age at time of death, race (within the four major ethnic groups) and sex. In addition to these parameters the forensic dentist may be able to give more insight into the individual. This paper outlines, for the non-expert, some of the additional personal information that can be derived from the teeth of the deceased, and which may assist in their ultimate identification.     

Alleged brain damage, diminished capacity, mens rea, and misuse of medical concepts.

As focus on the insanity defense diminishes, defendants may place emphasis on a lack of knowing or purposeful behavior in order to negate a criminal charge. This use of a mens rea defense in accord with Model Penal Code principles is exemplified by the current New Jersey statute. Such a defense may result in a lesser charge or a finding of not guilty. In addition to reviewing applicable law, this report presents a sex offense case in which remote brain damage was invoked as a purported basis for incapacity to formulate the required intent; the study also raises the issue of the inappropriate or questionable use of medical principles, a practice that diminishes professional credibility in the courts and in the community.     

Desquamative interstitial pneumonia in an infant. Mimicry of sudden infant death syndrome

A 15-week-old infant girl, without a prior history of overt illness, was found dead while sleeping between her two parents. The gross examination at autopsy showed only congested lungs, and the initial diagnosis was sudden infant death (SID). On microscopic examination, a desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) was observed. The widespread, patchy intraalveolar histiocytic desquamation was associated with lymphocytic infiltration of bronchiolar and aveolar walls, which together provided convincing evidence that an interstitial pneumonitis was the cause of death. A viral etiology seems most likely in view of the accompanying chronic inflammation of bronchial submucosal glands.