<abstract><title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title>An increasing number of asphyxia suicides by inhalation of inert gases have been reported from different parts of the world over 
the last decade. So far this phenomenon has not been described in our country. This article presents the first two case reports from 
Norway of presumed suicide by asphyxiation due to helium inhalation from a closed plastic bag over the head. In both cases a forensic 
autopsy, which included comprehensive toxicological analysis, was requested and performed. In the two cases death was attributed to 
asphyxia due to helium inhalation, and suffocation due to a plastic bag over the head and aspiration of gastric contents, respectively. 
Toxicological analysis revealed no findings contributing to the deaths. The absence of toxicological and autopsy findings to determine 
the cause of death in such cases may represent challenges of clinical and forensic significance. In contrast to the promotion of this 
method by euthanasia interest groups for the terminally ill reported suicides by helium asphyxiation primarily involve relatively young 
individuals suffering from psychiatric and/or substance use disorders, and not from terminal illness.</abstract>

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s and Womens’s Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

Death by self-inflicted asphyxia with helium – First case
reports from Norway and review of the literature

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic circumstances and the autopsy findings regarding drowning deaths autopsied at the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Aarhus. The study is based on autopsy reports from the Department of Forensic Medicine in Aarhus, 2006-2015 with drowning as a cause of death. Among the 135 cases of the study, 87 (64.4%) were accidents versus 33 (24.4%) suicides. The study showed, that the majority of the drowned 73,3% were males, especially pronounced in the accidents (81.6% were males). In 60.7% victims, there was a positive blood alcohol analysis, most often in males. Females with positive alcohol analyses did however have the highest mean alcohol blood level (1.65 versus 1.47 per mile). The most frequent place of the submersions was docks (24.4%) and the most frequent time of day was in the evening (18.00 – 23.59; 19.3%) and at night (00.00 – 05.59; 20.0%). The study shows no significant connection between adipocere and type of water (OR=1.21, 95% CI (0.49;2.99), p=0.68), bulging lungs and type of water (OR=1.18, 95% CI (0.52;2.70), p=0.69), lung weight and type of water (z-test, p=0.38) and the amount of pleural effusion and water type (z-test, p=0.16). A significant connection between the presence of pleural effusion and type of water cannot discounted (OR=2.37, 95% CI (1.06;2.44), p=0.02).</abstract>

Circumstances and autopsy findings in drownings, Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, 2006-2015

<abstract><title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title> This is the full summary paper of a thesis to be defended at the University of Copenhagen, May 31st, 2013</abstract>

Forensic anthropology and human identification

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>A three year old girl was observed to have bluish marks on her back, arms and legs. The social services initiated an examination on the local hospital, but no conclusion regarding the marks was reached. The girl was institutionalized before a forensic examination after three days concluded that the marks were Mongolian spots. The case stresses the importance of being able to distinguish between Mongolian spots and skin hematomas and the need for a genuine clinical forensic examination in cases where child abuse is suspected. A guide for distinguishing between Mongolian spots and skin hematomas is presented.</abstract>

A three year old girl was removed from her parents because of failure to recognize Mongolian spots

Post Mortem Computed Tomography as an important tool in establishing a cause of death in fire fatalities

<abstract><title style='display:none'>ABSTRACT</title> We describe a fatality due to an intrathecally positioned epidural catheter and an infusion rate of bupivacaine set 10 times higher than planned. The undetected misplacement, despite safety routines, is discussed along with the toxicological findings and new information on the intrathecal distribution of bupivacaine. From a clinical point of view, the human factor, in combination with an indistinct decimal point on the pump, was considered as the reason for the unfortunate overdose. In continuous epidural infusion of local anesthetics, the importance of guidelines and informed staff in managing complications of epidural lumbar infusion as well as careful monitoring of the vital functions is essential. Guidelines are also vital during the procedure of insertion of epidural catheters. When using combined spinal and epidural anaesthesia, we believe that an epidural catheter should be inserted, and its position tested, prior to spinal anesthesia. The case also illustrates the need of innovative investigation techniques to confirm the suspicion of unusual manifestations of inadvertent drug effects. Segmental analysis, together with analyses in a control case, enabled us to elucidate the high and varying tissue concentrations in the central nervous system.</abstract>

Section of Forensic Medicine, Dept of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, PO Box 7642, SE-907 12 Umeå, Sweden

Dept of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Umeå University, SE-901 85 Umeå, Sweden

Fatal bupivacaine overdose through intrathecally positioned epidural catheter

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This paper presents the ongoing development of forensic anthropology in Sweden. We discuss the background of the discipline, its application, as well as its current and potential development in Swedish forensic practice. Collaboration with osteoarchaeologists in skeletal forensic cases has a long tradition in Sweden. Analyses of skeletal remains are performed ad-hoc, in contrast to analyses of fleshed human remains. While several law enforcement employees are educated in forensic anthropology and/or osteoarchaeology, they are not employed in these fields, and regional variations are evident. Internationally, forensic anthropology has become an autonomous forensic discipline over the past decades, requiring skills beyond mere skeletal analysis. To keep on a par with international standards, it may be time to revisit the concept of forensic anthropology in Sweden. Despite the limited presence of supporting organisational structures and systems, forensic anthropological and hard-tissue-reliant physico-chemical analyses have proven valuable in Swedish forensic practice, especially in cases of personal identification, trauma analysis and search efforts. We argue that Sweden could benefit from making qualified forensic anthropology expertise available in all law enforcement regions, starting to implement and promote forensic anthropology in routine forensic casework and formalising the role of forensic anthropology practitioners.
</abstract>

Development and implementation of forensic anthropology in Swedish forensic practice

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This article focuses on the history and main activities in the search and identification of Lithuanian partisans, commonly known as the “Forest brothers”. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the search for partisans was chaotic and unprofessional, leading to extensive exhumations without professional provision, and reburial without further identification of the remains. Only after regaining independence, the Lithuanian government supported official surveys and even re-exhumations of the partisans. These new investigations were led by esteemed historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists, and provided results that conflicted with former activities. The overall outcome could be summarized as a division between an “official history” asserted by the Soviet Union, and results coming from a collaboration between forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology specialists. The thorough results and overall conclusions led to two main accomplishments: the identification of partisans, including some prominent figures of this movement, and the manner of death, through the evidence of undocumented torture.
</abstract>

Forest brothers - the search and identification of the participants of anti-soviet resistance

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In 2020, archaeological excavations, exhumations, and field research were conducted at two mass grave sites near Zokniai and Armalėnai (Fig. 1) in order to locate, exhume, document, identify where possible, and respectfully bury the human remains. Archaeological field methodology was employed during the excavation and exhumation phases; the visual examination data, supplemented by osteological data obtained using anthropological methodology, was separately recorded for each individual using a standardized format. A total of 1927 individuals were exhumed, documented, and buried. The Zokniai investigation revealed that the burial site originated in late 1941 and contained POWs who were either in transit or performing harsh labour at the airport; many had died from gunshot lesions and mistreatment. The stationary camp inmates at Armalėnai were buried in late 1942 - early 1943, their deaths presumably being the result of exhaustion and disease. Both investigations illustrate how interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeology and anthropology can offer forgotten people greater respect and recognition.
</abstract>

Investigating Two Mass Grave Sites of WWII POW Camps in Lithuania

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In this paper we discuss the history and development of forensic archaeology and anthropology in Finland. Current status of the fields and some future prospects are also highlighted. We offer some potential reasons for why so little research related to forensic archaeology or anthropology is conducted in Finland. To set the forensic archaeology and anthropology in Finland into a broader setting, we discuss the awareness of the fields among Finnish archaeologists, anthropologists, and enthusiasts via the results of an online survey conducted in November 2021. In this manuscript we also delve into some inner workings of Finnish law enforcement and voluntary organisations in order to show how forensic archaeologists and anthropologists could fit into criminal investigations in Finland.
</abstract>

The status and future of forensic archaeology and anthropology in Finland

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This article presents a brief overview of the development of forensic archaeology in Lithuania. From the beginning of the early 1960s, the disciplines of forensic osteology and anthropology have been intensively developed through extensive work on numerous mass graves left in Lithuania after wars and other social disasters. This has allowed individual researchers and their teams to develop and validate a set of original, population-specific forensic osteological methods. Nevertheless, the term <italic>forensic archeology</italic> is still new in Lithuania. Only over the last few years has a short program of forensic archeology been offered to students of archaeology. The potential application of forensic archaeology in solving legal issues still lacks the interest of law enforcement and governmental institutions. We want to emphasize the importance of close collaboration between different institutions and an interdisciplinary approach to these investigations as a core value in achieving final goals. In addition, the particular importance of international cooperation to properly commemorate the victims of wars is emphasized.
</abstract>

Development of forensic archaeology in Lithuania and identification of historical persons

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the status of forensic anthropology and forensic archeology in Denmark, as well as related information about education, research, and skeletal collections. Forensic anthropologists mainly deal with the examination of unidentified skeletal remains. Some special tasks include cranial trauma analysis of the recently deceased, advanced 3D visualization from CT scanning of homicide cases, and stature estimation of perpetrators using surveillance videos. Forensic anthropologists are employed at one of Denmark’s three departments of forensic medicine (in Copenhagen, Odense, and Aarhus) and have access to advanced imaging equipment (e.g., CT and MR scanning, surface scanners, and 3D printers) for use in both their requisitioned work and their research. Extensive research is conducted on different topics, such as the health and diseases of past populations, age estimation, and human morphology. Research is based on skeletal material from the archeological collections housed in Copenhagen and Odense or on CT data from the recently deceased. There is no full degree in forensic anthropology in Denmark, but elective courses and lectures are offered to students at different levels and to people from different professional backgrounds.
Forensic archaeology is a relatively new field of expertise in Denmark, and relevant cases are rare, with only one or two cases per year. No forensic archeologists are officially employed in any of the departments of forensic medicine. Until recently, the Special Crime Unit of the police handled crime scene investigations involving excavations, but with the option of enlisting the help of outside specialists, such as archaeologists, anthropologists, and pathologists. An official excavation work group was established in 2015 under the lead of the Special Crime Unit of the police with the aim of refining the methods and procedures used in relevant criminal investigations. The group is represented by five police officers from the Special Crime Scene Unit, a police officer from the National Police Dog Training center, the two archaeologists from Moesgaard Museum, a forensic anthropologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Copenhagen), and a forensic pathologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Aarhus).
</abstract>

Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology in Denmark

Conflict of Interest Statement

Instructions for Authors

Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science

The Journal of Danish Society of Forensic Medicine

 Official journal of the Danish, Norwegian and the Swedish societies for forensic medicine. The journal will publish original articles, review articles, preliminary communications,...

 Official journal of the Danish, Norwegian and the Swedish societies for forensic medicine. The journal will publish original articles,...