Archiv für Kriminologie
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Archiv für Kriminologie · Mar 1994
Case Reports[Confusing muscular hemorrhage in a drowned cadaver. A contribution to differentiation between vital and postmortem changes].
The autopsy on an body recovered from the water showed evidence of drowning and, in addition, the occurrence of extensive intramuscular bleeding on the neck, in the area of the shoulder girdle and the upper arms. There was a suspicion that criminal violence had been used, and the police carried out extensive investigations; these were inconclusive. The subsequent histological examination of the affected musculature revealed "reactive" changes throughout which corresponded to post mortem damage. The case presented here serves to illustrate the usefulness of muscle histology for differentiating between the occurrence of intramuscular bleeding before and after death; the corresponding histological criteria are outlined.
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Archiv für Kriminologie · Mar 1994
Case Reports[Medical autopsy. Problems in the medical field, in judicial inquiries and with federal laws].
A basic duty of coroner's inquest is to ascertain whether death was due to an internal or external cause or cause of death remains unclear; economic constrains and less effort for the coroner's inquest lead to blunders on several levels: the physician's level, the level of judicial inquiry and the Land governments. Typical negative and positive marks as well as intermediate stages on each of these levels are pointed out, perspectives are shown.