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Rajs, J. (Department of Forensic Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden) SUBENDOCARDIAL HAEMORRHAGES - AN ANALYSIS OF CLINICAL-

PATHOLOGIC AND FORENSIC-MEDICAL AUTOPSY CASES One hundred consecutive autopsy cases with left ventricular subendo-

cardial haemorrhages were analysed with regard to etiological factors (diseases, injuries and other conditions) of the primary lesion, morphological changes in the subendocardial region, the interval between the primary lesion and death, and the cause of death.

It seems that at the moment of death there are pathological changes in the subendocardial region, which are not agonal in type, and that there is a correlation between the morphological changes and the time interval be- tween the primary lesion and death.

Ruohonen, A., Korte, T, and Alha, A. R. (Department of Forensic Medicine, Chemical Division, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland) BLOOD AND BRAIN ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY. QUANTITATION OF

ANTICHOLINESTERASE COMPOUNDS BY THE CHOLINESTERASE INHIBITION

METHOD AND GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY

Acetylcholinesterase activity in 2 ~1 blood and 2 mg brain homogenate was estimated by Ellman’s spectrophotometric DTNB method (Zech et al., Z. Klin. Chem. Klin. Biochem., 7 (1969) 547) pH 8, 25 “C. The average activities are presented in pM/min/ml or g.

In “normal” death cases the mean values 8.3 for blood and 9.6 for cerebellum were obtained, while in cases of fatal cholinesterase inhibitor poisonings the obtained mean values were 1.8 and 1.5 respectively.

The activity in normal animal blood was considerably lower (1.7 - 3.0). The values from the brain of some small animals were higher, especially those obtained from hen cerebellum (up to 65).

We undertook experiments with the acetylcholinesterase inhibition method (Voss et al., Residue Rev., 37 (1971) 101) using hen cerebellum homogenate as enzyme source for the determination of fatal cholinesterase inhibitor poisonings. Simultaneously gas chromatography was used for the quantitation of fatal propoxur, parathion and mevinfoss poisonings. Good agreement in results was obtained for blood, urine and stomach contents. The inhibition method was particularly sensitive for the propoxur (limit of detection ca. 0.1 pg).

Saldeen, T. (Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden) THE EARLY AND THE DELAYED MICRO-EMBOLISM SYNDROME

Results from clinical autopsy and experimental investigations indicate the existence of 2 forms of the micro-embolism syndrome.

In the early micro-embolism syndrome the micro-emboli accumulated in the lungs give rise to a transitory pulmonary, dysfunction with a reduction in PaOa. By mechanical obstruction, secondary vasoconstriction and