Summary
Carbon monoxide hemoglobin (COHb) concentrations in left and right heart blood samples from cadavers both exposed and not exposed to fire or CO gas were analyzed by the gas chromatographic method. The COHb concentration ratio between samples of left and right heart blood (L/R ratio) does not appear to be useful for establishing whether death has occurred before or after exposure to fire with the exception of cases where no soot can be detected in the airways by the naked eye and the COHb concentration in the blood sample is within the level considered normal for tobacco smokers.
Zusammenfassung
Mit Hilfe der Gaschromatographie wurde die Kohlenmonoxid-Konzentration im Blut des rechten und linken Herzens vergleichend untersucht. Das Material stammt von Leichen mit antemortaler oder nicht-antemortaler Feuer- oder CO-Exposition. Das Konzentrationsverhältnis von COHb zwischen linkem und rechtem Herzblut (L/R-Quotient) scheint ein nicht brauchbares Kriterium zu sein, um festzustellen, ob der Tod sich vor oder nach der Feuer-Exposition ereignet hat; mit der Ausnahme von solchen Fällen, wo bei makrokopischer Untersuchung kein Ruß in den Atemwegen gefunden wird und wo die COHb-Konzentration innerhalb jener Grenzen ist, welche für Zigaretten-Raucher als normal angesehen werden.
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Paper presented at the 29th International Meeting of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 24–27, 1991
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Miyazaki, T., Kojima, T., Yashiki, M. et al. Interpretation of COHb concentrations in the left and right heart blood of cadavers. Int J Leg Med 105, 65–68 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02340825
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02340825