FORENSIC MEDICINE – FROM OLD PROBLEMS TO NEW CHALLENGES Edited by Duarte Nuno Vieira Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges Edited by Duarte Nuno Vieira Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2011 InTech All chapters are Open Access articles distributed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial Share Alike Attribution 3.0 license, which permits to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work in any medium, so long as the original work is properly cited. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published articles. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Davor Vidic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer Jan Hyrat Image Copyright Africa Studio, 2010. Used under license from Shutterstock.com First published August, 2011 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechweb.org Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges, Edited by Duarte Nuno Vieira p. cm. ISBN 978-953-307-262-3 free online editions of InTech Books and Journals can be found at www.intechopen.com Contents Preface IX Chapter 1 Avoiding Errors and Pitfalls in Evidence Sampling for Forensic Genetics 1 B. Ludes and C. Keyser Chapter 2 Death Scene Investigation from the Viewpoint of Forensic Medicine Expert 13 Serafettin Demirci and Kamil Hakan Dogan Chapter 3 Diagnostic of Drowning in Forensic Medicine 53 Audrey Farrugia and Bertrand Ludes Chapter 4 Forensic Investigation in Anaphylactic Deaths 61 Nicoletta Trani, Luca Reggiani Bonetti, Giorgio Gualandri, Giuseppe Barbolini and Margherita Trani Chapter 5 Forensic Age Estimation in Unaccompanied Minors and Young Living Adults 77 Andreas Schmeling, Pedro Manuel Garamendi, Jose Luis Prieto and María Irene Landa Chapter 6 Epidemiology and Diagnostic Problems of Electrical Injury in Forensic Medicine 121 William Dokov and Klara Dokova Chapter 7 Child Deaths 137 Gurol Canturk, M. Sunay Yavuz and Nergis Canturk Chapter 8 Child Abuse and the External Cause of Death in Estonia 177 Marika Väli, Jana Tuusov, Katrin Lang and Kersti Pärna Chapter 9 Sexual Assault in Childhood and Adolescence 189 Hakan Kar VI Contents Chapter 10 Cannabinoids: Forensic Toxicology and Therapeutics 215 Helena M. Teixeira and Flávio Reis Chapter 11 Pharmacogenetics Role in Forensic Sciences 251 Loredana Buscemi and Adriano Tagliabracci Chapter 12 Forensic Pharmacogenetics 267 Susi Pelotti and Carla Bini Chapter 13 Forensic Microbiology 293 Herbert Tomaso and Heinrich Neubauer Chapter 14 Advanced Medical Imaging and Reverse Engineering Technologies in Craniometric Study 307 Supakit Rooppakhun, Nattapon Chantarapanich and Kriskrai Sitthiseripratip Chapter 15 House Dust Mites, Other Domestic Mites and Forensic Medicine 327 Solarz Krzysztof Chapter 16 Types and Subtypes of the Posterior Part of the Cerebral arterial Circle in Human Adult Cadavers 359 Ljiljana Vasović, Milena Trandafilović, Ivan Jovanović, Slađana Ugrenović, Slobodan Vlajković and Jovan Stojanović Preface Forensic medicine has attracted considerable attention from the media and general public in recent years, largely due to the impact of successful television series dealing with the subject and to certain high-profile cases (involving crime, natural disasters or technological accidents) in which it played a significant part. Forensic medicine is a continuously evolving science that is constantly being updated and improved, not only as a result of technological and scientific advances (which bring almost immediate repercussions) but also because of developments in the social and legal spheres. We are undoubtedly living in a period of constant rapid change. Thus, if forensic medicine departments are to fulfil their role as centres of training, expertise and research, the professionals working in them need to be attentive to those changes by being prepared to constantly update their knowledge and skills. One of the most important ways of keeping in touch with new developments in the field is through reading, which enables us to share in the reflections and experiences of other professionals and brings us into contact with different realities and perspectives. A great many books have been published about forensic medicine in recent years. However, most are very similar in structure, with chapters that review the various areas of expert intervention; indeed, the only differences between them tend to concern certain concepts and/or the geographical background of their author(s). All continue to give priority to the traditional paper format, which, despite its many advantages, also brings limitations, conditioning access to contents (particularly amongst professionals from poorer countries) and restricting dissemination and circulation. This book does not follow this usual publication policy, and in that respect, it is not simply new, it is (if I may dare to say so) radically new. It contains innovative perspectives and approaches to classic topics and problems in forensic medicine, offering reflections about the potential and limits of emerging areas in forensic expert research; it transmits the experience of some countries in the domain of cutting-edge expert intervention, and shows how research in other fields of knowledge may have very relevant implications for this practice. X Preface There are chapters on the potential of pharmacogenetics and forensic microbiology, chapters offering different perspectives on perennial themes such as the diagnosis of death by drowning or anaphylactic shock, others reflecting on the particular experience of some countries in areas as problematic as child abuse, and some that apparently have little or nothing to do with forensic medicine at all (such as the chapter about research into cerebral vascularisation), but whose results ultimately have a huge relevance for expert practice in forensic pathology. This book is thus a miscellany of different approaches to various aspects of forensic medical practice, all of which are extremely interesting. Precisely because it is a miscellany, there seemed little sense in grouping the texts into different chapters or areas; hence, they have been ordered thematically. When I was contacted by InTech to edit this work, I initially hesitated, wary of reviewing and pronouncing upon texts by authors that had not been selected by me and which had been submitted somewhat randomly without any prior guidance or structuring. But InTech is one of the biggest Open Access publishers of scientific books today, with high-quality publications, worldwide readership and no copyright transfer, and it was that which ultimately prompted me to accept the invitation. For this is an entirely new posture in the world of publishing. Indeed, my decision to participate as editor was strengthened when I discovered amongst the authors some of the world’s leading authorities in the field of forensic medicine whose work I have long admired and respected, alongside some newer names, people who were taking their first steps in international scientific publications and producing articles of a very promising quality. All in all, this has proved to be a particularly interesting experience, from which I have derived great pleasure and benefit, and I truly hope that the reader will find in the book the same opportunities for professional enrichment as I have done. Finally, some acknowledgements are due. Firstly, my thanks go to InTech for having invited me to participate in this work as editor, and to Davor Vidic, publishing process manager of this book, for the support, professionalism and efficiency with which he responded to my multiple requests, as well as for his endless patience with regard to my own systematic delays in responding to him. But above all, I would like to thank the authors for having taken the time to write the chapters contained in this book (thereby generously sharing their knowledge, experiences, reflections, expert practice and research with the international forensic medicine community) and for having contributed economically to the publication of this work, particularly as most of them could easily have published their texts in any other scientific journal or book. With this gesture, they have thus made possible the publication of an Open Access book that is free to professionals around the world and only a click away, thereby demonstrating a highly-developed social conscience as regards the growing imperative to openly share information. Indeed, it is my opinion that those that have achieved a particular status, professional or academic, in the world of forensic [...]... having the forensic medicine expert attend the death scene is severalfold By viewing the body in the context of its surroundings, the forensic medicine expert is better able to interpret certain findings at the autopsy such as a patterned imprint across the neck from collapsing onto an open vegetable drawer in a refrigerator The 14 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges forensic medicine. .. scene The forensic medicine expert is invited to the scene and, as 22 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges a guest, must comply with house rules In Britain, for example, several teams converge on a scene of crime, including photographers and video operators, and Scene of Crime Officers (SOCOs) whose function is to collect trace evidence Scientists from the nearest forensic laboratory... To remove all amplification inhibiting elements without the loss of DNA; To amplify all the extracted molecules with adding the amplification reagents to the device containing the DNA rather to add the DNA to the amplification tube and to loose molecules in pipette tips or on the tube walls ; 4 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges 3.2 DNA quantitation It seems not necessary to. .. Glass, soil, documents, cigarette butts, tobacco, and all items thought to be involved in arson should be collected and submitted to a lab Each item submitted to a lab should be referenced by either a photograph or written description as to its location in the scene All containers with items submitted to the lab 24 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges must be labeled on the lid and... Peterson DA: Laser microdissection separation of pure spermatozoa from epithelial cells for short tandem repeat analysis J Forensic Sci 2006, 51:748-757 12 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges Sewell J, Quinones I, Ames C, Multaney B, Curtis S, Seeboruth H, Moore S, Daniel B: Recovery of DNA and fingerprints from touched documents Forensic Sci Int Genet 2008, 2:281-285 Smith PJ, Ballantyne... must be able to rise and fall for respiration to occur If one is wedged too tightly in a position, the chest wall cannot rise and fall (Wagner, 2009) (Fig 1) Many inexperienced investigators focus on a major injury and neglect to evaluate the rest of the individual This can lead to important oversights such as fingernail marks, bruises, and 20 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges. .. facility to take still pictures has made instant reviewing possible The thermometer can be either a long chemical mercury type, reading from 0 to 50°C, or the more modern electronic digital variety with a probe carrying a thermocouple The amount 16 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges of equipment varies with the facilities likely to be available In developed countries there are likely to. .. detect contaminations coming from them; 8 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges To use DNA-free disposable equipment to collect the DNA on the target surfaces (Van Oorschot et al., 2005), and to systematically decontaminate thoroughly all the devices which would be in physical contact with the sample For victims taken to a hospital in attempt to seek treatment, the different surfaces... mechanisms reduce the number as well as the size of the fragments that can be amplified by PCR Failure to amplify DNA may also result from the presence of inhibitors that interfere 2 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges with the PCR such as low-molecular-weight compounds, supposedly derived from the crime scene environment, which coextract with the target DNA molecules and potently inhibit... recovery of DNA from sperm on microscope slides Forensic Sci Int 2003, 137:28-36 Forster L, Thomson J, Kutranov S: Direct comparison of post-28-cycle PCR purification and modified capillary electrophoresis methods with the 34-cycle 'low-copy-number' (LCN) method for analysis of trace forensic DNA samples Forensic Sci Int Genet 2008, 2:318-328 10 Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges Frégeau . FORENSIC MEDICINE – FROM OLD PROBLEMS TO NEW CHALLENGES Edited by Duarte Nuno Vieira Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges Edited. the evidences in order to detect contaminations coming from them; Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges 8 To use DNA-free disposable equipment to collect the DNA on. containing the DNA rather to add the DNA to the amplification tube and to loose molecules in pipette tips or on the tube walls ; Forensic Medicine – From Old Problems to New Challenges 4 3.2