[Fatal injuries of organs situated in the neck caused by fastened seat belts]. / Obrazenia smiertelne narzadów szyi spowodowane zapietymi pasami bezpieczenstwa.

The authors present the type and extent of injuries inflicted as a result of the victims wearing fastened seat belts during frontal impacts of the vehicles. As an example of a particular traffic accident, the authors describe a rare case of neck injuries resulting from improper fitting of the safety belt to the victim's height. The driver of the car that had frontally hit the obstacle was killed on the spot, while the female passenger, was taken to hospital in a severe condition, where she died several hours later. The direct cause of death of the passenger were injuries of the organs situated in the neck, such as rupture larynx, epiglottis and the thyroid cartilage, as well as the hyoid bone fracture resulting from an impact with a fastened safety belt.

[Pedestrian dragged under a truck]. / Pieszy ciagniety przez samochód ciezarowy.

A traffic accident is described, involving a pedestrian who was at first hit and subsequently hooked up by his clothing by a suspension element of a low-floor truck trailer and dragged along a road for the distance of 3500 m. Autopsy demonstrated that the pedestrian died of cerebro-cranial injuries, inflicted while he had been hit by the truck. Additionally, the frontal surface of his body demonstrated external injuries typical for dragging of the body along the roadway. Before being dragged, the pedestrian was hit by the front of the vehicle, when he was in a sitting position, or was rising or else was in a recumbent position with an elevated head and trunk. Traffic accidents of the type were seldom described in the national and foreign literature.

[Difficulties in identification of human corpses and skeletal remains on the basis of dental records and examinations]. / Trudnosci identyfikacji zwlok i szczatków ludzkich w oparciu o dokumentacje i badania stomatologiczne.

The entire skull-based complex comparative identification procedure consists of several detailed studies from different disciplines of science. The range of the performed studies predominantly depends on the available and collected comparative material pertaining to the examined individual and the final outcome of the complex identification procedure represents the results of individual stages of the studies. Odontological tests involving the comparison of dentition in the examined human skull with the dentition of the typed person, established by the available comparative material, represent a significant element of the identification procedure. The aim of the investigations was the examination of availability and usefulness of dental records during the identification process. The research was based on expert opinions issued in human-skull based identification processes and performed at Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, in the period between 1996 and 2005. A total of 398 identification procedures carried out in 348 sculls was analyzed. The research was mainly identification of an individual through face reconstruction and a skull/photo comparison. An overall number of 206 computer (digital) face-reconstructions and 263 comparison analyses was done in the above-mentioned period. Statistically, in only 22 cases out of 263 comparison analyses some dental records were available. Even then, dental records were not always relevant. In 4 cases, dental records were either incomplete, inaccurate or unreadable.

[Morphology and diagnostics of mechanisms of chest bone fractures and their use in analyzing forensic medicine results]. / Morfologia i diagnostyka mechanizmów zlaman kosci klatki piersiowej -- wykorzystanie w opiniowaniu sadowo-lekarskim.

The study presents the analysis of 343 available protocols of autopsy results. In the reviewed material, the authors noted that of 343 autopsies performed in 2005, in 92 cases, rib fractures were present. The study reviews the articles on the morphology and determination of the mechanism of rib fracturing. The authors describe the majority of factors that influence the type of fracture, as well as the current views on the possibility of applying the knowledge of morphology and mechanisms of rib fracturing in opinionating in traffic accidents, injuries inflicted to victims of assault and battery, in interpreting autopsy findings in victims of falls from high altitude or crushing by heavy objects, as well as in differentiating between primary and secondary injuries, and also identifying fractures occurring during resuscitation. Fractures in children are presented separately. The authors also analyze the issue of establishing the sequence of fractures.

[Infanticide in the light of post-mortem findings and court files from the period 1990-2000 (selected problems)]. / Dzieciobójstwo w swietle wyników sekcji zwlok i danych akt sadowych z lat 1990-2000 (wybrane zagadnienia).

Drawing upon 28 court files of the District Court in Poznan and 30 post-mortem protocols--from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Poznan Medical Academy. This article tackles the issue of infanticide in the period from 1990 to 2000. The aim of this paper was to find answers to the following questions: what was the social background and mental state of female offenders? How was infanticide committed? In order to solve certain research problems, a document examination technique was employed to analyse the contents of the documents available. Female offenders were aged between 17 to 42 years. In the majority of cases (56.7%), perpetrators were occupationally active, single young women with a low level of education and having a working-class background. In the majority of cases (80%), active infanticide was committed. Most frequently, infanticide was committed by shutting a child into a tight space, and tamponade of throat and larynx. Passive infanticide was committed in 20% of cases, with infants left without care at the place of birth. No case of psychosis was determined in the examined material.

[Clinical and toxicological evaluation of fatal poisoning with amphetamine derivative--MDMA, ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine)]. / Ocena kliniczna i toksykologiczna przypadku smiertelnego zatrucia pochodna amfetaminy--MDMA, ecstasy (3,4-metylenodioksymetyloamfetamina).

Intoxications with amphetamine derivatives represent an important problem of clinical and forensic toxicology. Even if distribution of the drug group has been legally forbidden, they continue to pose serious threats, linked to their uncontrolled administration which frequently leads to lethal intoxications. We present a case of intoxication in a 17-year-old male with amphetamine derivate--MDMA, Ecstasy. Clinical analysis documented an acute multi-organ failure, in particular pronounced hepatic and renal insufficiency, disseminated intravascular clotting (DIC). The comprehensive diagnosis and resulting discharge abstract of the acute poisoning were confirmed by postmortem investigations.