[The theory of postmortem rigidity: the history and an original concept].

The original theory of postmortem rigidity has been developed and substantiated based on the concept of postmortem muscular contracture. It is postulated that the unrestricted growth of Ca2+ concentration in myoplasm of contractile cells during the immediate postmortal period brings the actin-myosine complex to the force generation state without subsequent relaxation.

[The scoring and rating system for the estimation of the teaching efficiency in forensic medicine].

The authors developed a system of criteria for the evaluation of the results of education of forensic medical students based on the scoring and rating scale. The major requirements for the organization of academic activities are considered. It is emphasized that the compliance with these requirements is an indispensable prerequisite for the introduction of the above system in the training routine at the Department of Forensic Medicine.

[The substantiation of the mathematical model of the process of postmortem spin probe recovery for the ascertainment of the time of death].

The authors report the results of the application of various mathematical models simulating postmortem changes in the vitreous body detected by the method with the use of spin probes of electron-paramagnetic resonance. An original mathematical model was developed based on the Mathematics-7 software package. The data obtained suggest the possibility of using it for expert diagnostics of prescription of death coming.

[The propriety of establishing the fact of neonatality based on the examination of the child's corpse].

It is shown based on the historical and legal analysis that the designation of the child's status as a newborn infant throughout the period of its neonatal life till violent death "at or immediately after births" is the exclusive prerogative of the law-enforcement authorities. An original approach has been developed and recommended for the introduction into the expert practice. According to this proposal facts and arguments in the "Expert conclusions" should be formulated so as to avoid mentioning the child as newborn and to indicate only the duration of its extrauterine life. Such an approach leaves it to the law-enforcement authorities to decide in each concrete case whether the child should be designated as a newborn infant or not.

[Forensic medical expert examination of stab-slash skin wounds subjected to the action of water].

This work was designed to study morphological traits of 30 stab-slash skin wounds after staying in water for 1-31 days. It was shown that effect of water exposure on morphometric parameters of the wounds depends on its duration, and the resulting changes are characterized by certain regular features that can be used for the purpose of identification of injury implement.

[Postmortem changes in intraocular pressure as a possible method of estimation of the time since death].

The authors propose a modern approach to determination of intraocular pressure in corpses. The method holds promise for estimation of prescription of death coming.

[Proposals on standardization of the terminology used in assessing quality of medical service].

The terms and notions used in assessment of medical care quality are sometimes ambiguously interpreted. The authors propose a complex approach to standardization of terminology used for assessment of medical care quality.

[Diagnosis of acute intoxication with ethyl alcohol in expert practice].

Significant chemical and biochemical signs of acute alcoholic intoxication are considered tanatologically. A complex approach to diagnosis of acute poisoning with ethyl alcohol is proposed.

[The specificity of thermometry of cadavers of newborns in prescribing the time of the coming of death].

It is distinctly demonstrated on the basis of 7908 measurements of rectal temperature of cadavers of newborns that such thermometry should be made at a depth of at least 5.5 cm in order to ensure an accurate prescription of the coming of death (PCD) in expertise of cadavers of newborns. An optimal method of calculating the sought results as applicable to different situations and made with the help of correction factors is described. The results of lifetime thermometry of 60 newborns are presented, which prove that the length of intrauterine life of a baby affects essentially its values. An accurate PCD of a newborn is a technical study result.

[Determination of the time of death according to rectal thermometry data using computer calculations]. / Opredelenie vremeni nastupleniia smerti po dannym rektal'noi termometrii s primeneniem chislennykh metodov rascheta na EVM.

A mathematic model of estimation of time of death (TD) in newborns is proposed. This computer method of TD timing by changes of body temperature differs from earlier developed mathematical models by possibility to consider individual anthropometric and thermophysical characteristics of the body. It is more precise, shorter and easy to perform.

[Principles in construction of mathematical model for neonatal corpse cooling studies]. / O printsipakh postroeniia matematicheskoi modeli dlia izuchenmiia protsessa okhlazhdeniia trupa novorozhdennogo.

The process of cooling of the body of a dead human was studied with consideration for the anatomical characteristics of adult and newborn human corpses. The body was simulated as a homogeneous elongated rotation ellipsoid and mathematical model was developed as function of relationship between body temperature and time. After appropriate characteristics in the mathematical model were established, cooling processes and effects of various factors on this process were analyzed for the final ellipsoid. The model suggests the possibility of amendments for environmental temperature and body parameters.

[Thermometry of cadavers]. / O termometrii trupa.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the norm-setting documents on the order of thermometry, regulating the steps of physician during examination at the site where the cadaver was found and of medical expert during expert evaluations and to disclose the relationship between the depth to which the thermometer is inserted during measurements of rectal temperature and thermometry value. The following conclusions are made: 1) even at the same time of death, the data of rectal thermometry are in direct proportion to the depth to which the thermometer is inserted into the rectum; 2) some assumptions in the norm-setting documents regulating the order of cadaver thermometry are to be revised; and 3) thermometers and method of thermometry performed by medical specialists at the site of accident and by experts at thanatological departments of Bureaus of Forensic Medical Expert Evaluations are to be standardized.

[Discrimination between functions of an expert bureau and a burial firm (topic for discussion)]. / O razdelenii funktsii ékspertnogo uchrezhdeniia i pokhoronnoi organizatsii.

The authors suggest measures aimed at discrimination of the functions performed by forensic medical experts and the services rendered by burial firms. The responsibilities of pathology departments of hospitals and bureaus of forensic medical expert evaluations, which should be reflected in official documents, should be confined to manipulations needed to solve the professional problems and removal of sections. Cases when utilization of certain chemicals or manipulations aimed at restoration of the body are prohibited should be listed in detail. The order of transfer of the body from pathology department or forensic medical bureau to the burial firm and to relatives should be regulated with consideration for the results of autopsy. The moment of the end of autopsy studies is to be determined.

[Age-related changes in the goniometric indices of the pelvic bones in children]. / Vozrastnye izmeneniia nekotorykh goniometricheskikh pokazatelei kostei taza u detei.

The present research was aimed to study changes of angular parameters of pelvic bones in children depending on age and sex. The following are angular parameters studied: 1) pubic arch angle; 2) ischiadic angle; 3) angle of pubic bone rami inclination; 4) angle of anterior pelvic semicircle; 5) angle of symphysis inclination; 6) angle of pelvic inclination. To assess the results obtained and reveal variability regularities variation-statistical processing was performed.

[The nature and mechanogenesis of pelvic bone fractures in children from exposure to the impact from blunt solid objects in the pubic symphysis area at different angles to the plane of the pelvic girdle]. / Kharakter i mekhanogenez perelomov kostei taza u detei pri udarnom vozdeistvii tupymi tverdymi predmetami v oblast' lobkovogo simfiza pod raznymi uglami k ploskosti tazovogo kol'tsa.

Forty-four cases with pelvic injuries in children resultant from strikes inflicted in the pubic symphysis from the front with blunt hard objects (30 experimental observations, 230 fractures, and 14 expert cases, 119 fractures) are analyzed. The results indicate that in children subjected to strikes in the pubic symphysis with blunt objects it is possible to determine the mechanogenesis of injuries, and, hence, the angle between the direction of traumatic force and pelvic plane (in the pelvic ring plane or at a 45 or 90 degrees angle to it).

[The nature and mechanogenesis of pelvic bone fractures in children from exposure to the impact from blunt solid objects in a diagonal direction from the front and the side]. / Kharakter i mekhanogenez perelomov kostei taza u detei pri udarnom vozdeistvii tupymi tverdymi predmetami v diagonal'nom napravlenii speredi sboku.

Fifty cases of pelvic injuries in children are analyzed. The injuries were inflicted by blunt objects in the diagonal direction from the front from the side. Twenty-five of these (135 fractures) were expert cases, 25 (120 fractures) experimental observations. Both experimental and expert observations were divided into 3 groups depending on the angle between the direction of traumatic force action and the plane of the pelvic ring: those in the pelvic ring plane, and at angles of 45 and 90 degrees to it. In all the three groups strikes to the upper branch of the pubic bone with blunt objects from the front from the side in the diagonal direction led to development of various strained deformed states of the pelvis, each of which was characterized by specific mechanogenesis, localization, and morphology of fractures.

[The possibilities for detecting pelvic injuries in children (comparative x-ray, computed tomographic and morphological studies)]. / Vozmozhnosti vyiavleniia povrezhdenii taza u detei (sravnitel'noe rentgenologicheskoe, komp'iuterno-tomograficheskoe i morfologicheskoe issledovanie).

The authors analyze the possibility of detecting pelvic injuries in children on an inpatient basis by x-ray examination and computer-aided tomography and by morphological methods during forensic medical autopsy. A total of 146 cases are analyzed. X-Ray examination helped diagnose only 47.37% of all injuries in children with pelvic traumas. The informative value of the x-ray method may be improved if such factors as the presence of residual deformation with manifest asymmetry of the small pelvis entry are taken into consideration. If pelvic injuries are suspected in children, plane computer-aided tomography is advisable, for it permits the diagnosis of 76.32% injuries.