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Biomedical subjects

A T Schäfer

Publications and source records attributed to A T Schäfer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Colour measurements of pallor mortis.

Little interest has yet been focused on the development of postmortem paleness (pallor mortis). Using an opto-electronical colour measurement device, we examined pallor mortis in 126 bodies and compared these findings to the average skin colour of 72 living Caucasian volunteers. It was shown that (a) hairy skin influences the results and any hair must be removed by shaving before colour determination, (b) among the living, there is a skin colour difference between the sexes which disappears after death, (c) postmortem paleness is caused by lack of capillary circulation after death and (d) paleness develops so rapidly after death that it has no or little use in determining time of death.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

What happens in freezing bodies? Experimental study of histological tissue change caused by freezing injuries.

In order to evaluate histological features of freezing damages to human tissue after death, we froze samples of liver and heart tissue to temperatures of -12 degrees C, -28 degrees C and -80 degrees C, and stored them for 24 and 72 h, respectively, at those temperatures. After thawing and routine preparation for histology, the samples were evaluated both by microscope and with an electronic image analyzer. In all cases, we found extended extracellular spaces and shrunken cells resulting from the freeze-thaw cycle. These features were more pronounced in tissues stored for longer durations. Such findings seem to be typical of tissue that has been frozen prior to examination. Two cases of dead bodies found outdoors at subzero temperatures demonstrate that formerly frozen and unfrozen tissues can be distinguished histologically. The findings are examined in relation to the fundamental laws of cryobiology.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Honey with Psilocybe mushrooms: a revival of a very old preparation on the drug market?

In 1996 samples of suspicious honey preparations were confiscated at the Dutch-German border. The labels on the 50 ml jars indicated that the honey contained Stropharia cubensis (better known as Psilocybe cubensis). The jars were filled with honey with a ca. 1 cm layer of fine particles on the top. The particles were collected and subjected to microscopic and chemical analysis. By microscopy mushroom tissue (plectenchym) and spores typical for the genus Psilocybe were identified in all samples. The HPLC analysis with atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry and diode array detection revealed psilocine but psilocybine was not found. The quantitative analysis was very difficult due to the matrix problems. A search showed that the honey with Psilocybe can be purchased in Dutch coffee shops without any limitations although psilocine and psilocybine belong to listed substances according to Dutch law.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1994

[Not Available].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1994

[Medical and non-medical assistance for suicide].

Assistance to suicide can only be accepted ethically and juristically if the decision to commit suicide is based on a responsible, undisturbed freedom of decision-making. However, in a selection of the patients willing to commit suicide this freedom is restricted due to mental illness or other psychiatric disorders. In such cases doctors as well as laymen are obliged to help the patient to survive. Some problems may arise from the fact that medical laymen are frequently incompetent in distinguishing between mentally normal and disturbed states.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1991

Airway resistance of the posterior nasal pathways in sudden infant death victims.

In order to test the hypothesis that infectious swelling of parts of the inner nose causes airway obstruction and is of aetiological significance for sudden infant death (SID), we measured the airway resistances of the prepared posterior nasal pathways of 55 SID victims and 7 infants who died of other causes. About 25% of the SID victims but none of the control cases had strongly elevated nasal resistances; over 4000 kPa.s.m-3 up to unmeasurable values. A histological survey showed that about 50% of the SID cases and only 1 of the control cases exhibited distinct to severe signs of inflammation of the nasal mucous membranes. No correlation was found between nasal resistance and age, sex, body weight, body length, head circumference, or histological findings. We conclude that an elevated nasal resistance plays a role in some SID cases and that SID is rather the result of different processes than a monocausal disease.

Airway Resistance↗
PubMed1987

[Sudden death in cerebral hemiatrophy].

Hemiatrophia cerebri is a rare disease, and the etiology and pathogenesis remain unclear in most cases. In the present case, the marked hemiatrophy of the brain in a 19-year-old patient who died suddenly is attributed to encephalitis during early childhood and subsequent prolonged seizures.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Microscopic examination of Guaraná powder--Paullinia cupana Kunth].

Guaraná is a product from the seeds of the Amazonian liana Paullinia cupana that is also cultivated since a couple of years. It is rich in caffeine and serves in Brasil for the production of stimulants, soft drinks, and sweets. In the drug scene it is sometimes trafficked as natural stimulant or drug surrogate. Microscopic examination shows the presence of starch and tannins and provides a simple, quick and cheap method to distinguish guaraná from drugs of abuse.

Beverages↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Microscopic study of powders of hallucinogenic mushrooms--Psilocybe sp].

The paper presents simple methods for microscopic examination and basic microchemical testing for the identification of suspect mushroom powders. The microscopic features of the most commonly cultivated and trafficked hallucinogenic genus Psilocybin are described and may serve for the decision whether any suspect material consists of such mushroom powder (and is therefore to be subjected to further analysis) or not.

Agaricales↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Forensic medicine experiences in Kosovo].

In summer 1999, a German forensic team of CID officers and forensic pathologists was sent to Kosovo on request of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to investigate possible war crimes. For this purpose, witnesses had to be found and interrogated and graves of victims had to be located and the bodies exhumed and examined forensically. Roughly 200 bodies have been found and examined during the campaign that were predominantly of male sex and showed mainly gunshot wounds. A high percentage of all bodies could be identified. The article deals with different forensic-pathologic aspects of such an investigation.

Autopsy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Child abuse with fatal sequelae in an Essen autopsy sample].

In the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Essen/Germany 24 cases of lethal child battering or neglect have been observed over 17 years from 1973 to 1989. The medicolegal and morphologic findings in these cases are presented and compared to the literature. The patterns of abuse/neglect in Essen compare to those frequently reported in the literature: skull/brain traumas caused by blunt impact, multiple hematomas, bone fractures, and symptoms of malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, and general neglect. In many cases the abuse could be shown to have been chronic. In the seven years 1983-1989 the cases of lethal child mistreatment and neglect amounted to 0.18 percent of all autopsies. Five cases of lethal sexual assault in children during the same period are compared to the mistreated cases.

Adolescent↗