International Journal of Legal Medicine This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Spina bifida, the normal, the pathological and the in-between: first evidence from a forensic osteological collection
AbstractSpina bifida (SB), a rare congenital disorder, is often mentioned as an individualizing factor in Forensic Anthropology. A lack of empirical data regarding SB is noticed in the scientific literature. Moreover, within the scope of anthropological research on SB disparities in terminology, classification systems, and methodological approaches result in incomparable results. The wide range (1,2%-50%) of “spina bifida occulta” reported prevalences is a good example. This research aims to analyze and debate the standard diagnostic criteria of SB on human skeletal remains, and attempts to elaborate on an universal sy...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 31, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Forensic age estimation in adults by pubic bone mineral density using multidetector computed tomography
This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using pubic bone mineral density (BMD) as a new age estimation method in the Chinese population. 468 pubic bone CT scans from living individuals in a Chinese hospital aged 18 to 87  years old were used to measure pubic BMD. The BMD of the bilateral pubic bone was measured using the Mimics software on cross-sectional CT images and the mean BMD of the bilateral pubic bone was also calculated. Regression analysis was performed to assess the correlation between pubic BMD and chro nological age and to develop mathematical models for age estimation. We evaluated the accuracy of ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 26, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Bridging the gap between decomposition theory and forensic research on postmortem interval
AbstractKnowledge of the decomposition of vertebrate animals has advanced considerably in recent years and revealed complex interactions among biological and environmental factors that affect rates of decay. Yet this complexity remains to be fully incorporated into research or models of the postmortem interval (PMI). We suggest there is both opportunity and a need to use recent advances in decomposition theory to guide forensic research and its applications to understanding the PMI. Here we synthesise knowledge of the biological and environmental factors driving variation in decomposition and the acknowledged limitations a...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 25, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Clinical exome sequencing elucidates underlying cause of death in sudden unexpected death of infants: two case reports
AbstractSudden unexpected death in infants (SUDI) is a traumatic event for families, and unfortunately its occurrence remains high in many parts of the world. Whilst cause of death is resolved for most cases, others remain undetermined following postmortem investigations. There has been a recognition of the role of genetic testing in unexplained cases, where previous studies have demonstrated the resolution of cases through DNA analyses. Here we present two case reports of SUDI cases admitted to Salt River Mortuary, South Africa, and show that underlying causes of death were determined for both infants using clinical exome...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 24, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Impact of (forensic) expert opinions according to the Istanbul Protocol in Germany —results and insights of the in:Fo-project—reply to commentary of C. Cattaneo and L. Franceschetti
(Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 21, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Suspension-associated dislocation of the jaw in hanging
We present two cases of deaths believed to be caused by self-inflicted hanging that were observed to have unexpected unilateral dislocation of the temporomandibular joint identified on routine post-mortem computed tomography, without any evidence of involvement of a third party. This injury was unexplained and had not been previously observed at our Forensic Institute nor was it identified after a review of the published biomedical research literature. Issues regarding the cause of this abnormality, possible mechanisms, and the medicolegal significance of this finding will be discussed. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 18, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Metabolic ratios and SNPs implicated in tramadol-related deaths
AbstractTramadol (TR) metabolism is performed by polymorphic enzymes that are influenced by genetic polymorphisms. Within this scope, the study presented here aimed to describe 41 genetic variants withinCYP2D6,CYP2B6, andCYP3A4 genes in 48 cases of TR-related death that may be involved in the response to TR and to assess whether there is a correlation between these genetic variants and metabolic ratios (MRs). Blood samples from 48 victims of a TR-related death were analyzed to determine the concentrations of TR and its metabolites [O-desmethyltramadol (M1)&N-desmethyltramadol (M2)] using a LC –MS/MS method. All the s...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 17, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Commentary on: “Impact of (forensic) expert opinions according to the Istanbul Protocol in Germany—results and insights of the in: Fo-project”
(Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 17, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Observing the fragmentation of two expanding bullet types and a full metal-jacketed bullet with computed tomography —a forensic ballistics case study
AbstractComputed tomography (CT) may have a crucial role in the forensic documentation and analysis of firearm injuries. The aim of this forensic ballistics case study was to explore whether two types of expanding bullets and a full metal-jacketed bullet could be differentiated by inspecting bullet fragments and fragmentation pattern in CT. Three types of .30 caliber bullets (full metal-jacketed Norma Jaktmatch, expanding full-copper Norma Ecostrike, and expanding soft-point Norma Oryx) were test fired from a distance of 5 m to blocks of 10% ballistic gelatine. CT scans of the blocks were obtained with clinical equipment a...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 17, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Influence of the toxicological status on the diagnosis of fatal drowning
AbstractDrowning is the leading cause of death by accident of everyday life in people under 25 years of age. Xenobiotics are frequently involved in drowning cases but their influence on the diagnosis of fatal drowning has not been studied so far. This preliminary study aimed to assess the influence of an alcohol and/or a drug intoxication on the autopsy signs of drowning, and on the results of diatom analyses in drowning deaths. Twenty-eight autopsy cases of drowning including 19 freshwater drownings, 6 seawater drownings, and 3 brackish water drownings were prospectively included. Toxicological and diatom tests were perfo...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 11, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Genetic inconsistency at the D6S1043 locus caused by microdeletion at 6q15
AbstractIn the practice of parentage testing, short tandem repeat (STR) genetic inconsistencies occasionally occur and are usually treated as genetic mutations. However, they arise for various reasons. To elucidate the reasons for their occurrence, this study investigates a typical trio. For the D6S1043 locus, the genotype of the biological mother comprised the heterozygous alleles “7,20”; that of the child, allele 20; and that of the alleged father, a heterozygous allele “11,13,” revealing a 7-step mutation. Different kits were first used to verify the data. The locus map, primers, and core sequences were then ana...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 6, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

A global perspective of forensic entomology case reports from 1935 to 2022
In this study, we retrospectively summarized information derived from 307 forensic entomology case reports from 1935 to 2022 from a global perspective. Our checklist of relevant information included insect species, specific indoor or outdoor preferences, preferred temperatures, and stages of body decomposition. Finally, a concept and calculation method for postmortem interval (PMI) estimation accuracy was proposed. There were 232 cases using insect developmental data and 28 cases using succession patterns to estimate PMI. A total of 146 species of insects were involved in the cases, of which 62.3% were Diptera and 37.7% we...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 6, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Gunshot wounds in parenchymatous organs: the morphology mainly depends on the physical properties of the affected tissues*
AbstractIn contrast to gunshot wounds in skin and bone, the medico-legal literature pays little attention to the appearance of bullet penetration sites in abdominal organs. It was only in 1983 that Metter and Schulz published an article entitled “Morphological features of gunshot wounds in the liver and spleen.” According to their observations, the organs in question showed stellate tears at the bullet penetration sites resembling skin wounds from contact shots to body regions having a bony support. The study presented simulated the rea l conditions by means of test shots to composite models consisting of porcine organ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 6, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Selection and validation of a novel set of specific differential methylation markers and construction of a random forest  prediction model for the accurate tissue origin identifications of body fluids involving young and middle-aged group of Chinese Han population
AbstractThe identification of tissue origin of body fluid is helpful to the determination of the case nature and the reproduction of the case process. It has been confirmed that tissue-specific differential methylation markers could be used to identify the tissue origins of different body fluids. To select suitable tissue-specific differential methylation markers and establish the efficient typing system which could be applied to the identifications of body fluids in forensic cases involving Chinese Han individuals of young and middle-aged group, a total of 125 body fluids (venous blood, semen, vaginal fluid, saliva, and m...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 5, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Pulmonary capillaritis as a cause of lethal diffuse alveolar hemorrhage
AbstractLethal pulmonary hemoptysis is a common finding in forensic medicine. Since hemoptysis does not necessarily occur before death and its previous symptoms are usually unspecific, indicative signs or findings at the site of a corpse may be completely absent. If lethal acute alveolar hemorrhage is found in the post-mortem examination, a differential diagnosis should be made for traumatic, substance-related, infectious, or organic causes. Cocaine-associated pulmonary hemorrhage and drug reactions are in the foreground. For organic causes, autoimmune diseases should be considered in addition to cardiac, haematological, a...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 4, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research