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Biomedical subjects

H Strauch

Publications and source records attributed to H Strauch.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Persecution of Jewish forensic pathologists.

Not even forensic pathologists were spared by the anti-Jewish laws of the Third Reich. Fritz Strassmann and Paul Fraenckel were among more than 140 faculty of the Berlin Department of Medicine persecuted by the national socialist dictatorship. It was because of their Jewish background that Georg Strassmann was expelled from university in Breslau, and Leone Lattes was forced to leave in Pavia. Miklós Nyiszli was deported from Oradea to Auschwitz and forced to perform forensic autopsies. Stefan Jellinek in Vienna, Ludwik Hirszfeld in Warsaw and Friedrich Schiff in Berlin were other medical professionals whose achievements had enriched legal medicine before they became victims of anti-Jewish persecution.

Forensic Medicine↗
PubMed2004

Forensic medicine in the German Democratic Republic.

Forensic medicine services were resumed in the territory of the Soviet occupation zone in early summer 1945. One coherent legal system was established, following the foundation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), 7 October 1949. Forensic medicine was subject of teaching and examinations from the very outset. Sub-specialisation (fellowship) was introduced in 1955. The Gesellschaft für Gerichtliche Medizin der DDR (GDR Society of Forensic Medicine) was established in 1967 and began to organise with high continuity a wide-ranging variety of scientific events. Almost all administrative districts had their own institute of forensic medicine by 1990.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed2004

Analytical investigations in a death case by suffocation in an argon atmosphere.

A 31-year-old engineer was found dead in a reaction vessel (diameter 0.8 m, height 1.8 m) of a bulb factory some minutes after he had entered it for repair work. Resuscitation attempts with artificial respiration were unsuccessful. Despite autopsy and usual toxicological analyses, no cause of death could be found. Since in the normal production process, argon was used as a protecting gas, the possibility of suffocation in an argon atmosphere was investigated. This was rendered more difficult because of the natural content of 0.93 vol.% argon in air and since the excessive argon could have been removed by the resuscitation attempts. Gas samples from larynx, esophagus, bronchi, and stomach, separated blood samples from both ventricles of the heart and from the vena iliaca externa as well as tissue samples from lung and liver were collected during autopsy into headspace vials in such a way that the loss of gas and a dilution by surrounding air was avoided as far as possible. The samples were analyzed by headspace GC-MS. The abundance of Ar+ (m/z = 40) was used for quantification with N2(2+) (m/z = 14) as internal standard. The following argon concentrations were measured (mean values, case under investigation/comparison cases): gas from larynx 1.79/0.96 vol.%, stomach gas 1.58/0.89 vol.%, heart blood (left ventricle) 7.2/2.7 microg/mL, heart blood (right ventricle) 5.8/2.7 microg/mL, blood from vena iliaca externa 3.6/2.7 microg/mL. A clearly increased concentration was also found in lung tissue, whereas in liver tissue no significant difference in comparison to other cases was measured. From the results, it follows that the deceased inhaled an increased amount of argon a short time before death. The concentrations are consistent with asphyxia and subsequent resuscitation attempts. They cannot be explained by a long-term inhalation of an atmosphere enriched with argon before the incident as it is likely to have occurred in this factory hall.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed2001

Female suicides in Berlin with the use of firearms.

The Statistical Office of Berlin recorded a total of 5488 suicides within the 10-year period 1990-1999 (3550 males, 1938 females). Firearms were used in 238 cases (218 males, 20 females). An autopsy was performed in 19 of the 20 female cases. The women's ages ranged from 21 to 88 years. Their marital status was single (n=6), married (n=5), divorced (n=5) and widowed (n=3). Eight of the women had one or more children. A suicide note was found in eight cases; six women had a history of psychiatric illness, and six had previously attempted suicide. Predominant among the suicide motives were mental (n=5) and organic (n=4) disorders as well as relationship problems (n=3) and financial difficulties (n=2). Most of the women (n=16) committed suicide in their own apartment, mainly in the bedroom. The weapons used were pistol (n=10), revolver (n=6), rifle (n=2) and a blank cartridge gun (n=1). In 16 cases we found a contact discharge at point blank range. Six of the dead women were found with the weapon still in their hands. The site of bullet-entry was the right temple (n=11), high-parietal (n=2), mouth (n=3), neck (n=1), and chest (n=2). A comparison of our results with the data of other authors for male or predominantly male collectives did not indicate any sex-specific differences regarding the type of weapon, location of the entry wound or the scene. However, alcohol was detected at a lower frequency compared with male gunshot suicides.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Kicking to death - forensic and criminological aspects.

A total of 36,274 forensic autopsies was performed in Berlin, between 1980 and 1987, including 152 cases (0.42%) in which death had been caused by blunt violence due to kicking. Data were collected on both victims and offenders, postmortem findings, causes of death and the way violence had been perpetrated. The greater part of victims and offenders had been males originating from lower social strata. Most of the victims and offenders had been in relationship with each other prior to the offence. Typical course of events: Victims and offenders, under influence of alcohol, became involved in a brawl, usually for trivial reasons, which soon led to physical fighting. When the victim had been knocked to the ground, the offender started forceful kicking. Bleeding to death and head injury were frequent causes of death. More than 50% of all offences were committed by single offenders. The diagnosis of kicking to death can at best be derived from presence of boot traces leaving shaped injuries. The trace-generating boot can be identified as offending tool by means of comparative police investigation. In addition to evaluation of shoe sole profiles, there is other trace-relevant material that may be sampled from a suspected offender's footwear (skin cells, hair, blood, body tissue) and used to identify findings by DNA analysis. There may be injuries with visible patterns supporting suspicion of kicking and trampling, although conclusive confirmation can be obtained only by testimony by a witness or confession by the offender.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Fatal accidents due to train surfing in Berlin.

This study was undertaken for the purpose of analysing under the aspect of legal medicine, fatal accidents due to train surfing in the local transport system of Berlin (S-Bahn and underground). The period of investigation was from 1989 through 1995, with 41 train surfing accidents, among them 18 with fatal outcome. Evaluation included those 14 deaths which were forensically autopsied. It was based on autopsy records of Berlin-based university institutes (Humboldt University and Free University) as well as the Brandenburg State Institute of Legal Medicine. Also used were data obtained from the Berlin Transport Police Record. The casualties were aged between 13 and 25 years, most of them between 16 and 20. The male-female gender ratio was 13:1. Accidents occurred above all in the warmer season of the year, most of them between 20:00 h and midnight. More than 50% of all cases were affected by alcohol, but centrally acting medicaments or other addictive drugs were not noticed at all. Most of the fatal accidents occurred to users of the Berlin S-Bahn network. Older train models were the preferred surfing objects due to their structural peculiarities. Collision with close-to-track obstacles and slipping from the train proved to be the major sources of danger. An analysis of injuries revealed polytraumatisation but for one exception, with craniocerebral injuries being the most common and severest events. The longest survival time amounted to 24 h. As the psychosocial causes of high-risk behaviour of adolescents will hardly be controllable, withdrawal of technical, that is structural design possibilities appears to be the most important approach to prevention of accidents in the future. This demand is met by the new series of the Berlin S-Bahn. The model of the old series, suitable for surfing, still accounts for about 10% of the rolling stock and is to be decommissioned in 1998.

Accidents↗
PubMed1998

Fatal wounds to the thorax caused by gunshots from blank cartridges.

Lethal injuries of the thorax due to shots fired from blank cartridges calibre 8 mm are reported in three cases. The muzzle of the weapon was in contact with the left side of the breast (contact discharge) and injuries to bones were absent in all three cases. In two of the cases the pericardium was not involved but the anterior wall of the right heart ventricle was ruptured and death was due to cardiac tamponade. In the third case the pericardial sac and the left ventricle were both ruptured and the victim died due to rapid exsanguination. The cases demonstrate that the gas pressure from the exploding propellent of blank ammunition can be powerful enough to penetrate the thoracic wall.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Mass disasters in former East Germany--a forensic medicine retrospect].

The authors report the analysis of mass disasters, which had been dealt with by forensic experts, on the territory of the former GDR. The report comes on the initiative of the Society of Forensic Medicine and with the support of regional institutes. For the period 1960 to 1989, 20 events with 738 casualties were registered. The number of victims was particularly high in aviation and rail disasters as well as in the Zwickau mine disaster. The Forensic Institute of the Humboldt-University in Berlin was engaged in the investigation of the three airplane crashes on Berlin territory and near Berlin (Königs-Wusterhausen 1972, Berlin-Bohnsdorf 1986 and Berlin-Schönefeld 1989) as well as of the railway disaster near Lebus in 1977. As a result of the analysis, the experience gained in three decades regarding the planning, organization and realization of the identification of victims is dealt with in more detail. It emphasizes the significance of close cooperation with dentists and criminalists. Because of ethical, legal and criminalistic reasons the aim should always be a complete examination (including autopsy) of the victims as well as their identification.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1991

[Several reliable legal regulations of East German legislation in relation to the forensic medicine specialty].

The authors treat questions involving post-mortem examinations and autopsies, as regulated in the "Order Pertaining to Post-mortem Medical Examinations" in the former GDR. The administrative autopsy is of special importance in this respect. This regulation, which has been demanded by German physicians for more than a century and has existed for a long time in Austria (1857), should finally be introduced in the Federal Republic of Germany as well. It should at least be retained in the new Federal States. In the field of alcohol-related traffic law, the authors advocate a reduction of the blood-alcohol limit throughout Germany, even if the zero limit in the former GDR does not appear to be implementable. The time-tested regulations applying to organ graftings are presented as the third topic. In the GDR there was a uniform order based on the right to object.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1976

[Investigation of electrophoretical enzyme phänotypes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, red cell acid phosphatase, phosphoglucomutase and adenosine deaminase of permanent human cell lines (author's transl)].

Isoenzymes of 11 cell lines were investigated by electrophoretical separation. All lines have been cultivated from tissues of white persons, all but one (Leuc. Th. B.) were phosphoglucomutase 1 and all were adenosine deaminase 1. Three out of 11 cell lines did show glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) type B as expected. Two out of 8 cell lines with G6PD A were distinguishable by their specific type of "red cell" acid phosphatase (SEP). We conclude that in vitro the electrophoretical G6PD phänotyp B changed to phänotype A. Further 4 lines had other peculiarities which are indicative to their originality, though they were G6PD A. Our investigations did show that G6PD may become type A if a cell line changes to permanent growth capacity in vitro. The enzyme marker G6PD A alone may not be valuated as an absolute evidence for contamination or mix up with He-La Cells.

Acid Phosphatase↗