The utility of plastinates in court: a case of firearm homicide
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CASE REPORT
The utility of plastinates in court: a case of firearm homicide Andrea Porzionato 1 & Marianna Russo 2
&
Veronica Macchi 1 & Anna Aprile 2 & Raffaele De Caro 1
Accepted: 25 January 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract Plastination is a technique renowned for its use in the preservation of human tissues or organs, and is mainly employed in anatomical training and in research regarding various scientific fields. The advantages of this method are related to the natural appearance, absence of odor, and easy-handling of the plastinated products. The use of plastinates in forensic sciences, their potential role in personal identification, and their usefulness in interpretation of post-mortem findings has been described, although literature on this topic is poor. The present paper is the first report of a firearm homicide where the brain of the victim was plastinated and presented in court as documentary evidence. Three dimensional examination of the brain during the trial allowed the judge to directly evaluate the pathway of the projectile and to compare it with the information that was presented based on depositions, post mortem data and police investigations, in a more straightforward manner. The important role played by plastination in the reported case in assisting with the final verdict could be a catalyst to extend the use of this technique to other criminal cases. Keywords Plastination . Forensic sciences . Firearm homicide . Court
Introduction Plastination is an excellent method for the long-term preservation of human tissues, organs and body parts. This process, introduced by Gunther von Hagens in the late 1970s [1], is based on replacing water and lipids, contained in biological tissues, with curable polymers, mostly silicone, epoxy, and polyester, which are subsequently hardened, finally resulting in natural-looking, dry, odorless and durable specimens [2]. The plastinates retain the natural surface structure and anatomical details of specimens, giving a naturalistic representation of them. Unlike fixation with formalin, the materials used in plastination are non-hazardous and permit easy handling of the dry specimens, facilitating 3D examination and side by side comparisons [3]. The numerous advantages of this technique account for its widespread use and increasing popularity in teaching anatomy as a complement to traditional dissection courses [4].
* Marianna Russo [email protected] 1
Department of Neuroscience, Section of Human Anatomy, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
2
Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Beside the educational purpose in anatomical training, other fields of application include research in morphological sciences, embryology, radiology and surgery [5–10]. Except for very few articles regarding the use of plastination in personal identification, interpretation, and documentation of postmortem findings, literature regarding the use of plastination in fore
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