2,4-dinitrophenol intoxication and its morphological findings as an indication of substance intake.

Lethal intoxications can only very rarely be recognized during an external examination of corpses, as poisoning does not leave any characteristic findings on the deceased. The present study is a retrospective review on 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) intoxications in human subjects from the beginning of the 20th century until today, as well as a case report on a fatal intoxication of a 50-year old obese man in Rostock (Germany) and an introduction for toxicological analysis in post-mortem specimens of the substance ingested in these rare cases. Via selective literature search, the information on occurrence and localization of abnormal pathomorphological external and/or internal findings in cases of 2,4-DNP ingestion/ intoxication was gathered.

A 15-year review of lightning deaths in Germany-with a focus on pathognomonic findings.

Lethal accidents caused by lightning are divided into observed and unobserved events. Pathognomonic or characteristic findings are often overlooked during external postmortem examination. Classical mistakes may be made which may often lead to an incorrect diagnosis.

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis with Seizures and Myocarditis: A Fatal Triad.

Autoimmune pathology of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is generally restricted to the brain. Our objective is to expand the phenotype of ADEM. A four-year-old girl was admitted to the pediatric emergency room of a university medical center five days after a common upper respiratory tract infection.

Secondary sclerosing cholangitis in critically ill patients after a traffic accident-a new entity that should be considered in death classification.

A 49-year-old female sustained a polytrauma after being hit by a vehicle in a traffic accident. Following the incident, the woman had various surgical interventions and underwent intensive care over a 6-week period. Eight months later, she died after developing secondary sclerosing cholangitis (SSC).

Death within 44 days of 2,4-dinitrophenol intake.

We report the case of a 50-year-old obese man (115 kg body mass at 1.77 m height), who started taking 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) for weight reduction 44 days before his death. After 43 days of taking DNP, the man showed signs of intoxication with nausea, vomiting, and attacks of sweating.

Histologic spectrum of the cardiac conducting tissue in non-natural deaths under 30 years of age: an analysis of 43 cases with special implications for sudden cardiac death.

In the past, histological findings of the cardiac conduction system or its adjacent structures, such as filiform fibers at the transition from bundle of His to bundle branches, connective tissue at the apex of the ventricular septum, or fibromuscular alterations of the arteries has been considered as a cause of death. However, the prevalence of such findings in a healthy population has been rarely analyzed systematically. In the present study, the morphology of the cardiac conduction system of 43 heart-healthy individuals who died of non-natural causes (ages 0 to 30 years) was investigated.

Fibromuscular dysplasia of cardiac conduction system arteries in traumatic and nonnatural sudden death victims aged 0 to 40 years: a histological analysis of 100 cases.

Background: Since 1967, numerous case reports have described fibromuscular alterations of the sinus node artery and/or the atrioventricular node artery as a potential cause of death. However, the prevalence of these changes in a healthy population has only rarely been investigated systematically.

Methods: The arteries of the cardiac conduction system were studied systematically, by means of routine histology, in 100 cases of victims aged 0 to 40 years with a nonnatural cause of death.

Detection of gold particles in the neck skin after lightning stroke with evaporation of an ornamental chain.

A German couple was struck by lightning. Both patients survived this event. Whereas the husband was unconscious for only a few minutes, his wife fell into coma for 24 h.

[Killing a wolf--an unusual case of forensic veterinary pathology].

During a hunt in Western Pomerania in January 1999 a wolf, injured at the left hind leg, was killed by a shot in the chest region. It was a 2-year-old male that probably came to Germany from Poland by crossing the Oder River. The hunter was reported to the police afterwards, because there were doubts as to the legality of the lethal shot.