View of a war from a pathology department: Croatian experience.

This report presents an analysis of autopsy records from the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Osijek General Hospital, in the period from 2 May 1991, when 12 Croatian policemen were killed in an ambush in Borovo Selo and the war against Croatia unofficially began, until 15 January 1992, when the last cease-fire agreement between Croatia and Serbia, sponsored by the United Nations, became effective. During that time, 651 war-related autopsies were performed, constituting 42 per cent of all the deaths recorded in eastern Slavonia for that period. This number presents an 11-fold increase in the number of violent deaths in comparison to the same period of the pre-war year 1989 to 90. Forty-four per cent of all deaths were civilian ones. Explosive wounds were the most frequent cause of death: they accounted for 60 per cent of the civilian and 49 per cent of all the deaths. This fact and the extensive destruction of the cities in eastern Slavonia, including their hospitals, indicate that a principal characteristic of this and many modern wars is sudden and unexpected ground and air attacks on civilian targets.

[Civilian massacre near Podravska Slatina, 3 September 1991]. / Pokolj civila blizu Podravske Slatine 3. rujna 1991.

Twenty one civilians, 5 women and 16 men, were found dead in their doorways and yards after Serbian terrorists attacked the village of Cetekovac on 3 September 1991. The age of the decedents ranged from 18 to 91 years. The oldest victims were women (aged 63, 68, 72, 86 and 91). The wounds found on 19 decedents were characteristic of the long-range gunshot wounds, with projectiles fired mostly from the back or/and the side of the body. The autopsy of one decedent (J. B.) revealed that he died from two stabbing wounds and that those were the only wounds inflicted to the body. The body of the decedent (M. S.) was heavily carbonized so that the cause of the death or even whether he was alive when his body was set on fire could not be estimated.

The cell-mediated immunity in patients with malignant melanoma.

Cellular immunity in 22 patients with malignant melanoma and the blocking effect of their sera was followed by means of the leukocyte migration inhibition test. The migration of peripheral leukocytes from malignant melanoma patients was significantly inhibited in the presence of malignant melanoma antigen in 50% of examined patients and only in 2 cases in controls. The blocking activity of serum on migration inhibition was observed in 3 melanoma patients. From the results of the tests performed related to the two-years-course of the disease the conclusion may be drawn that the prognosis in patients with proved cellular hypersensitivity to malignant melanoma antigen is more favorable than in anergic individuals.

[Syphilitic lymphadenitis]. / Prijicná lymfadenitida

The authors subjected to histological examination a total of 38 inguinal lymph nodes from 35 patients. In 34 instances recent acquired syphilis was involved in one instance tertiary syphilis. The disease was in all patients confirmed by clinical examination, by evidence of Treponema pallidum in the luetic ulcer of the primary stage or in condylomas of the secondary stage and on serological examination by a positive BWR in blood or a positive TPI test. In three instances the histological finding in the lymph node was originally erroneously interpreted as a haemoblastoma. In two other patients the histological finding in the lymph nodes drew attention to syphilis, which before has escaped clinical diagnosis. The histological picture of syphilitic lymphadenitis in the early stage of the disease is characterized by perilymhadenitis, hyperplasia of the germ centres, proliferation of reticular cells and plasma cells and often also eosinophil cells. The finding of specific structures is rare. Vasculitis is always present. In half the patients by Warthin-Starry's method treponemas were detected.