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Forensic Pathology

Determination of Postmortem Interval from Old Skeletal Remains by Image Analysis of Luminol Test Results*

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ABSTRACT:

The luminol test is routinely used in forensic serology to locate blood traces and identify blood stains not visible to the naked eye; its sensitivity is reported as ranging from 1:100.000 to 1:5.000.000. To evaluate the possibility of correlating the postmortem interval with blood remnants in bone tissue, the luminol test was performed on 80 femurs with a known time of death, grouped in five classes. Powdered bone (30 mg) was recovered from compact tissue of the mid-shaft of each femur and was treated with 0.1 mL of Luminol solution (Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, Inc.). The reactions were observed in a dark room and filmed by a TV camera equipped with a recording tape. An intense chemiluminescence was observed after a few seconds in all 20 femurs with a PMI ranging from 1 month to 3 years. On the 20 femurs with a PMI ranging...

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Collection, Preservation And Forwarding Of Biolgical Samples For Toxicological Analysis In Medicolegal Autopsy Cases : A Review

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Abstract

Collection of proper autopsy specimen is an essential step in the process of toxicology case work.Improper collection of these specimens can greatly alter or negate chemical and toxicological analysis. This article is an update about the standard methods of biological specimen collection procedures for toxicological analysis which will be helpful for the forensic pathologist and forensic scientists.

Introduction

In handling the Medicolegal autopsy cases, certain standard guidelines are necessary to be laid down to assist in the selection of appropriate specimens of the body fluids and tissue for postmortem biochemical and toxicological analysis.After death there is a rapid change in the cellular level biochemistry due to autolysis. The drugs and other poisons may be released from the binding sites in tissues and major organs.

The unabsorbed drug may diffuse from stomach, care should be taken in selection of blood and tissue sampling sites. Many a times the autopsy is conducted before all the...

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Modelling Cranial Gunshot Wounds And Backspatter

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Abstract

Bloodspatter from gunshot wounds may be divided into two categories; forward spatter and backspatter. Forward spatter is ejected from the exit wound and travels in the same direction as the bullet. Backspatter on the other hand is ejected from the entrance wound and travels against the line of fire, back towards the shooter. This means it is commonly deposited on the hand of the shooter or the firearm, making it a critical piece of evidence when determining the manner of death. Despite this fact, research in this area is limited and no realistic synthetic model for studying backspatter has been documented in the literature. This project was initiated in response to this, in an attempt to create a realistic cranial model that could produce backspatter from a gunshot wound. A pig head model was developed, as it could be validated unlike a human model. This model consisted of synthetic skin, soft tissue...

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Surgical Judgment in the Management of Stab Wounds of the Abdomen:

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SINCE 1830, the management of stab wounds of the abdomen has alternated between operative and non-operative, but the policy of routine exploration of these wounds has dominated since World War I. In that military setting, it was first shown that mortality could be lowered from 90%o to 53% by exploration of all penetrating wounds. This approach was reinforced by the experiences in World War IL and in Korea when the mortality was, respectively, 25% and 12%.29 These military precepts were enthusiastically applied to civilian wounds. At Charity Hospital in New Orleans, a rigid policy of mandatory laparotomy for all patients with wounds which might have entered the peritoneal cavity was instituted by Miles in 1891 and continued off and on9 11, 26 until 1967. Both university services at Charity Hospital adhered faithfully to the policy, the philosophy which was epitomized by Moss, Schmidt and Creech16 in their review o...f

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Recovery and Interpretation of Burned Human Remains

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ABSRACT

Victim remains at fatal fire scenes are typically difficult to detect, recover and handle. All of the burned material at the scene, including biological tissue, is often modified to a similar appearance, and bones, in particular, become discolored, brittle, and highly fragmented. As a consequence, these remains are often missed, disturbed, altered, or even destroyed during scene processing with the existing protocols. The added postmortem fracturing, fragmentation and bone loss resulting from these recovery techniques hinder the already difficult task of autopsy and laboratory analysis of burned human remains. This is especially problematic for bone trauma analysis, as its most immediate goal is distinguishing perimortem (forensically significant) trauma, from postmortem (not forensically significant) alteration. The substantial addition of trauma features created by fire and then recovery can result in a daunting analytical task. Lack of on-scene recordation of relevant information related to body positioning and contextual relationships of remains as well as other...

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The Forensics of Blood

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After a homicide or an assault has been committed, police investigators usually find blood at the scene of the crime, giving them clues as to what happened. The blood’s texture and shape and how it is distributed around the victim often help investigators determine when the crime was committed, whether the crime was preceded by a fight between individuals, and which weapon was used say, a knife, a gun, or an object used to hit a person. But criminals have tried many ways to hide, clean up, and remove blood evidence. For example, what looks like blood may be another substance placed there by the criminal to mislead police investigators. Also, some criminals clean up the blood from the crime scene or move the victim’s body somewhere else, making it harder to reconstruct what really happened. To take these potential scenarios into account, forensic scientists who apply the latest scientific discoveries to law have developed techniques that can tell whether the

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Bodies from Water

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SUMMARY

1. Immersion artefacts occur in any corpse immersed in water, irrespective of whether death was from drowning or the person was dead on entering the water. Therefore, immersion artefacts do not contribute to proof of death by drowning. However, such artefacts are typically the most striking findings in a body recovered from water.

These immersion artefacts include: 1. goose-skin, or anserina cutis, which is roughening, or pimpling of the skin, 2. skin maceration, or washer-woman's skin, which is swelling and wrinkling of the skin, and 3. adipocere, which is the transformation of the fatty layer beneath the skin into a soap-like material - a process requiring many weeks or months.

2. Corpses in water always lie with the face down and with the head hanging. Buffeting in the water commonly produces post-mortem head injuries, which may be difficult to distinguish from injuries sustained during life. The presence of bleeding usually distinguishes ante-mortem from post-mortem injuries. However,

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The Gravity Guidance System

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Former NFL 3 Roman Gabriel has flipped for them. William Shatner has gone head over heels for them too. They’re called Inversion Boots, and according to their creator, California physician Dr. Robert Martin, some 200,000 people around the world are now using them to help eliminate physical hang-ups ranging from pot bellies to chronic back pain.

Inversion Boots are part of what Martin calls his Gravity Guiding System, a jungle gym of chrome-plated steel bars, clamps and hooks plus an oscillation bed that rotates 180°. With ankles strapped into the thickly padded metal cuffs, subjects hook their boots onto a metal bar, lean back on the bed and, raising their arms, allow their bodies to fall backward toward the floor. Experienced users may disengage from the bed and hang freely.

Some people experience fear and discomfort at first. “My eyeballs felt like they were coming out,” reports a first-time dangler, who nevertheless tried it again. “

See Also: Robert Martin's Boots Were Made for Hanging and for Overturning Back Pain

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Alcohol in Decomposed Bodies: Postmortem Synthesis and Distribution

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Abstract

Blood alcohol (ethanol) concentrations in decomposed bodies can mean drinking during life and/or endogenous production after death. The correct interpretation is important in medicolegal cases. This retrospective study of 286 autopsied medical examiner cases was undertaken to evaluate alcohol concentrations and distribution in various fluids and tissues in decomposed bodies. Cases with alcohol present were classified as endogenous production, ingestion, or unable to determine based upon one or more of the following criteria: the presence of ethanol in only one of more than one body fluids, an atypical distribution of ethanol in body fluids, reliable scene or historical information, the presence of C3 alcohols in body fluids.

Alcohol was classified as endogenously produced in 55 cases. The presence of alcohol was attributed to ingestion in 130 cases. No alcohol was detected in 39 cases. We were unable to determine the source of the remaining 62 alcohol concentrations.

The highest blood alcohol concentration derived from endogenous...

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Characterization Of The Volatile Organic Compounds Present In The Headspace Of Decomposing Human Remains

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ABSTRACT

Law enforcement agencies frequtly use canines trained to detect the odor of human decomposition to aid in detuermining the location of clandestine burials and human remains deposited or scattered on the surface. However, few studies attempt to identify the specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that elicit an appropriate response from victim recovery (VR) canines. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) War combined with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to identify the VOCs released into the headspace associated with 14 separate tissue samples of human remains previously used for VR canine training. The headspace was found to contain various classes of VOCs, including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, halogens, aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, and sulfides. Analysis of the data indicates that the VOCs associated with human decomposition share similarities across regions of the body and across types of tissue. However, sufficient differences exist to warrant VR canine testing to identify potential mimic odor chemical profiles that can be used as training aids. The resulting data will assist in the identification of the most...

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Gunshot Wounds Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques Second Edition by Vincent J. M. DiMaio, M.D.

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This Second Edition of Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, written by Vincent J. M. Di Maio, M.D. has been greatly expanded to include over 78 new photographs with references and discussions not covered in the original text. Dr. Di Maio has taken his personal observations, experience and research of gunshot wounds and firearms to create an extremely practical hands-on guide. Guns continue to be the most frequently used weapons in murder and firearms account for more than half of the slayings. Therefore, this Second Edition of Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, will continue to be the definitive source and reference for Medical Examiners, forensic pathologists, professional law enforcement officers, forensic crime laboratories, lawyers and others involved in the criminal justice and forensic fields. In 1985, the First Edition of Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques written by Vincent J. M. Di Maio,

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Diagnostic Problems in Anal Pathology:

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Abstract

Anal squamous cell carcinoma and its precursor lesions are increasing in incidence in the United States and Europe. This trend predates human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome and has been associated with persistent high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) genotype infection, previous lower genital tract dysplasia/carcinoma, high frequency anoreceptive intercourse, heavy cigarette smoking, immunosuppression in solid organ transplant and immune disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus seropositivity. Screening protocols for at-risk patients are under active investigation and pathologists are often asked to assess anal canal and perianal biopsies for the presence of dysplasia and/or invasive carcinoma. Because underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis of anal cancer and precancer may lead to inappropriate treatment, it is important for the pathologist to be aware of current screening strategies, specific risk lesions, and the role of pathology in initial diagnosis and evaluation of anal biopsy and/or resection specimens. Standardized histologic criteria and uniform terminology should be used for reporting all anal...

See Also: Diagnostic Problems In Anal Pathology.

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Current Methods In Forensic Gunshot Residue Analysis

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Introduction

Forensic science may be defined as the application of various scientific disciplines to aid the criminal justice system. Gunshot residue (GSR) evidence is an area of forensic science that is often underestimated and underappreciated by the forensic community. It is certainly one of the most underutilized types of physical evidence. The staggering increase in firearms-related offenses in the U.S. has intensified the importance of rapid and accurate GSR analysis. In a recent report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cites firearms as the weapons of choice in over 30% of 1.7 million incidents of violent crime. This book was written in response to the growing realization of the significance of GSR as evidence and the lack of textbooks that discuss current developments in this area of forensics. Despite advancements in analytical techniques and adjustments to the classification of GSR particles, no text that discusses these developments has been produced. In particular, this book provides a unique resource to help examiners at every

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Cadaver Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems

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Abstract

A dead mammal (i.e. cadaver) is a high quality resource (narrow carbon:nitrogen ratio, high water content) that releases an intense, localized pulse of carbon and nutrients into the soil upon decomposition. Despite the fact that as much as 5,000 kg of cadaver can be introduced to a square kilometer of terrestrial ecosystem each year, cadaver decomposition remains a neglected microsere. Here we review the processes associated with the introduction of cadaver-derived carbon and nutrients into soil from forensic and ecological settings to show that cadaver decomposition can have a greater, albeit localized, effect on below-ground ecology than plant and fecal resources. Cadaveric materials are rapidly introduced to below-ground floral and faunal communities, which results in the formation of a highly concentrated island of fertility, or cadaver decomposition island (CDI). CDIs are associated with increased soil microbial biomass, microbial activity (C mineralization) and nematode abundance. Each CDI is an ephemeral natural disturbance that, in addition to releasing energy and nutrients to the

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Determining Distance Between Shooter And Victim Using Blood And Back Spatter

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ABSTRACT

This project was developed in hopes of being able to answer questions about a crime scene that have not yet been answered. Blood pattern analysis is a crucial part of crime scene reconstruction. Analyzing the blood spatter left behind at most crime scenes allows for investigators to determine where the victim and the assaulting weapon came into contact with each other, also known as the point of convergence. They can also tell what type of weapon the assailant used to commit the crime with by analyzing the velocity of the spatter. However, a phenomenon known as back spatter analysis or as blow back analysis may also be left behind and studied by the investigator. The intention of this research is analyzing back spatter of objects shot with three different weapons at varying distance. Different ammunition will also be used. The weapons will be a Walther P22, 9mm Walther PPS, and a .380 Smith & Wesson Bodyguard using Critical Defense

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Acid Phosphatase Reaction as a Specific Test for the Identification of Seminal Stains II

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In a variety of sexual offences, the seminal stain is usually encountered in a dried form on clothing worn by the participants of the offence as well as on other extraneous objects such as carpets, floor, grass, linoleum, mat; turf, wool, wood, and on the vaginal and rectal parts of the passive agent, depending upon the nature and circumstances of offence. The acid phosphatase reaction has now become an indispensable chemical test in the hands of a forensic scientist to identify the presence of semen which is an abundant source of the enzyme acid phosphatase (1). This enzyme acts optimally on monoesters of phosphoric acid at pH values around 5 to 6 (2). This test has been successfully employed to obtain a proof of the presence of seminal stains (3-12). The acid phosphatase reaction is a typical test in which the suspected seminal stain or an extract...

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