1 / 20

Forensic Toxicology

Forensic Toxicology. Deaths Investigated by Forensic Toxicologists. Accidental Poisonings Drug Abuse Cases Suicidal Poisonings Homicidal Poisonings. Main Questions Addressed by Forensic Toxicologist. Is a drug or poison present? If so, what is the substance?

connello
Download Presentation

Forensic Toxicology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Forensic Toxicology

  2. Deaths Investigated by Forensic Toxicologists • Accidental Poisonings • Drug Abuse Cases • Suicidal Poisonings • Homicidal Poisonings

  3. Main Questions Addressed by Forensic Toxicologist • Is a drug or poison present? If so, what is the substance? • How much of the substance is present? Is the concentration great enough to cause or contribute to death? • How was the drug/poison administered?

  4. Properties of Ideal Poison

  5. Properties of Ideal Poison • Undetectable by senses • Soluble in water • Delayed effect • Easily obtained • Non-traceable • Symptoms mimic actual disease • Undetectable by scientific instruments • Potent

  6. Agent Botulinum toxin Ricin Strychnine Sodium arsenite Sodium cyanide Thallium Lethal Dose 0.05 mg 0.5 mg 100 mg 200 mg 250 mg 1000 mg Potencies of Various Poisons *As measured by the LD50 – the lethal dose that would kill 50% of people

  7. General Classes of Poisons • Gases – HCN, CO • Metallic Poisons – As, Sb, Pb, Li, Hg, Tl • Non-volatile organics • Corrosive poisons – strong acids/bases • Salts – NaCN • Alkaloids • Pesticides

  8. Carbon Monoxide (CO) • Normal level of 1-3% in body (up to 10% in smokers) • Fatal level at autopsy considered to be >50% for a healthy middle-aged male • CO prevents Oxygen binding to hemoglobin (red blood cells) • Leads to suffocation • CO victims have “cherry pink color”

  9. Metal Poisons • Most common – As2O3 (arsenic) • Death within 24 hours • Can be given in trace amounts over long periods of time • Symptoms: • Vomiting • Diarrhea

  10. Alkaloids • Nitrogen-containing organic base • Found in Plants and fungi • Strychnine most common • Death from muscle over-contraction, leading to respiratory system failure • Spasms and convulsions

  11. Pesticides • Many (most?) of the pesticides we spray on our lawns, gardens, etc. are poisonous • Growing in popularity • Easy to obtain • Common enough that it won’t raise suspicions as quickly if traces found

  12. Toxicological Analysis of Tissues • Collect sample of all body fluids • Collect samples from organs and tissues • Begin analysis as quickly as possible after death due to quick metabolism of toxins • Look for traces of poison OR their metabolic product (what toxin is changed into when broken down)

  13. Fluids Soft Tissue Samples Collected at Autopsy

  14. Fluids Blood – up to 100mL Urine – 100 mL Bile – all available Vitreous – all available Gastric contents – 50g Soft Tissue Liver – 100g Brain – 100-200g Kidney – 50g Lung – 50g Spleen – 50g Samples Collected at Autopsy

  15. Perpetrator Profile Gender Intentional Poisoning Trends

  16. Perpetrator Profile Caucasian Male Average or above IQ Underachiever Personality defect Non-confrontational Non-athletic Neat, orderly, meticulous Loner Gender Male – 46% Female – 39% Unknown – 15% Intentional Poisoning Trends

  17. Top 5 Homicidal Poisons • Arsenic – 31% • Cyanide – 9% • Strychnine – 6% • Morphine – 3% • Chloroform – 3%

  18. Possible Symptoms • Constricted/dilated pupils (opioids, organic phosphates) • Breath odor (arsenic – smells of garlic) • Hair loss (Thallium) • Convulsions (strychnine) • Paralysis (botulism) • Coma (depressants, hypnotics) • Skin color (CO=red, nitrites=blue) • Skin appearance • (arsenic – hyperkeratosis, warts) • (dioxin – chloracne)

  19. TCDD (dioxin) – Chloracne Poisoning of Victor Yushchenko just before Ukraine presidential election

More Related