PMID: 9441484Jan 24, 1998Paper

The importance of assessing the morphofunctional state of the liver in the diagnosis of fatal alcoholic intoxication

Sudebno-meditsinskaia ekspertiza
V A Porodenko

Abstract

The morphology and function of the liver was studied by pathomorphological, gas chromatographic, and histochemical analysis in 108 forensic medical expert evaluations of alcohol poisoning, coronary disease, alcohol cardiomyopathy, craniocerebral injury, and mechanical asphyxia. Ethanol concentrations in the blood collected from various parts of the venous system varied: in 69% of cases the level of ethanol was higher in the inferior vena cava than in the portal vein. Histochemical analysis of ethanol-oxidizing enzymatic systems together with pathomorphological findings and alcohol measurements in various parts of the venous system help assess the morphology and function of the liver, define the thanatogenesis, and draw objective expert conclusion on the cause of death.

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