[Extremely varied rectal temperatures in 10 fatalities after a house fire--a contribution to the significance of body weight in cadaver cooling].
Eight children at the age of one to eleven years, their mother and uncle were victims of fire that had broken out in their flat. They all died of combined carbon monoxide cyanide poisoning. The rectal temperature of the bodies taken nearly eight hours later ranged from 16 degrees C to 29 degrees C. Using the rectal temperature time of death nomogram (Henssge 1982) with reference to corrective factors of the body weight (Henssge and Madea 1988) to find out when they died, the results corresponded with the enquiries made by the police except for three cases. The rectal temperature of the apparently intact bodies of the three youngest children whose weight ranged from 9 to 14 kilograms was comparatively high. The reason for this may be that reduction in diameter and in weight of the body causes a heating up in a smaller amount of time. This is why one has to be careful to use the nomogram with fire victims especially with those of low weight.
Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Johannes-Gutenberg Universität Mainz.
T
T
Riepert
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Lasczkowski
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J
Becker
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R
Urban
D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D002056:Burns / Q000473:pathology*; D002249:Carbon Monoxide Poisoning / Q000473:pathology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006856:Hydrogen Cyanide / Q000506:poisoning; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011180:Postmortem Changes
D006856:Hydrogen Cyanide