Journal of forensic sciences
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The authors record the contribution of dentistry to the identification of victims of one of the most significant tragedies of the 20th century--the mass suicide of members of a religious cult, which initially resulted in 913 deaths and ultimately in 923. Though forensic dentistry played a significant part in identifying victims, the only report by members of the United States identification team did not examine dentistry's valuable role. Furthermore, the dental-investigation aspects have been mentioned merely in passing by the news media despite an infinite number of stories on the tragedy ranging from factual to expose. The dental team's organization, methodology, and significant contributions to forensic dentistry and a variety of remarkable problems that the team encountered and the lessons learned from them are documented in this paper.
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Ketosis occurs in ketoacidosis or malnourishment. When either is suspected in relation to a death, it may be important to analyze for ketosis at autopsy. We encountered a case where starvation was suspected in a deceased nursing home resident, where the body had been embalmed prior to autopsy. ⋯ Significant interference from embalming fluid did not occur. The Acetest was negative in the described case. The Acetest is a simple and useful test for the detection of ketosis in embalmed autopsies.