Biomedical subjects
B Schellmann
Publications and source records attributed to B Schellmann.
[Effect of soil conditions on corpse decomposition over a long period of time].
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[Study on the normal mercury concentrations of human organs (author's transl)].
Organ samples of the right kidney the right and left lobe of liver, the cerebellum, and the left cerebrum (cortex and marrow separately) from 51 autopsies were analysed on their mercury content. A special high pressure-digestion was used for the sample preparation. The quantitative determination of the mercury concentrations was performed by the so-called cold vapour technique. In the organs the following median mercury concentrations were found: a) left lobe of liver: 58 microgram/kg b) right lobe of liver: 54 microgram/kg c) right kidney: 96 microgram/kg d) cerebellum: less than 5 microgram/kg e) cerebrum cortex: less than 5 microgram/kg f) cerebrum marrow: less than 5 microgram/kg. All values were below the internationally discussed range. No sex differences were detectable in the median mercury concentrations of the analysed organs. The positive correlation between age and the mercury concentration in the cerebellum could reflect an accumulation over the life. But most likely the concentrations still stay considerably below the critical limits. The negative correlations between age and the mercury concentrations of the liver lobes as well as of the kidneys indicates a change in the distribution of mercury in the body with increasing age.
[Fatal swimming accident by a windsurfer].
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[Endogenous and exogenous features of primary cardiomyopathies - causes of acute heart deaths].
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[Pentachlorophenol concentrations in tissues and body fluids of normal persons (author's transl)].
Pentachlorophenol (PCP) analyses were performed on tissues and body fluids removed at autopsy from 21 human subjects from the geographical area of Northern Bavaria. The measured concentration of PCP in the urine range between 0.26 micrograms/ml and the detection limit (about 0.001 micrograms/ml); the median was 0.0044 micrograms/ml. The blood levels varied between 0.069 micrograms/ml and the detection limit (about 0.005 micrograms/ml); the median was 0.023 micrograms/ml. These results are well comparable with the data given in literature. The concentrations in blood and plasma are about 5 times higher than in urine. For levels below 0.1 micrograms/ml, in blood and plasma nearly the same PCP-concentration were found. All the investigated tissue contained PCP within concentrations from 0.219 micrograms/g to 0.007 micrograms/g. For the tissue samples the following medians were calculated: liver 0.067 micrograms/g, kidney 0.043 micrograms/g, brain 0.047 micrograms/g, spleen 0.019 micrograms/g, body fat 0.013 micrograms/g. Fatal ended PCP-intoxications described in literature, showed PCP-levels in average 1,000 times higher than our results. The PCP-levels in bodyfluids of occupationally exposed groups were found in an order of magnitude of 1.0 micrograms/ml. For the population in Northern Bavaria there are existing no probably hints for health impairments due to PCP-exposure at the recent time.
[Fecal excretion of cadmium and copper after mushroom (Agaricus) diet (author's transl)].
High contents of cadmium in some agaricus species led to the warning that the eating of wild-grown mushrooms may bear the possibility of cadmium-intoxication. The low digestion rate due to the chitin membrane of fungi was not discussed. Therefore, in this investigation the cadmium- and copper-concentrations in feces of five subjects were estimated before and after a three days mushrooms diet. The high amount of fecal cadmium and copper increasing after the diet confirm the suggestion, that eaten fungi mostly pass through the intestinal tract unscathed without resorption. By this even larger ingestions of agaricus fungi may not cause cadmium intoxication in humans.
[Topography of posttraumatic fat embolism. Histological and statistical investigation of Gough-sections of the lung (author's transl)].
In 50 fat-stained and foil-mounted Gough-sections of entire lungs in accidental death cases the topographic areas of fat-embolic blood vessel occlusions were estimated. For control, the same investigations were made in cases of nontraumatic death. Accumulation of fat-embolism was found in the arterior thirds of the upper and middle areas of the lung, while in the basal, the central, and the posterior parts the incidence of fat-embolic occlusions is significantly rarer. Similar results, although to a lesser degree, were found in the lungs of non-traumatized patients. A statistical study evaluated whether right or left lobe, sex, age, or time of survival after trauma influence the incidence and intensity of fat-embolic occlusions in the lung. The results were discussed.
[Isolated injuries of intestinal tract due to body maltreatment (author's transl)].
Three cases of fatal blunt abdominal trauma due to physical abuse are reported. Rupture of intestine and mesentery occurred after maltreatment by kick, battering, shaking, and throwing off on a mattress. The different mechanisms leading to these injuries are discussed. Small bowel lesions secondary to direct laceration are recognized to be more probable than due to indirect trauma.
[Unknown danger in phlebotomy with vacuum flasks: air embolism (author's transl)].
A case of nonfatal air embolism during a phlebotomy is reported. It was due to an incorrect procedure and a negligently nonevacuated vacuum flask. The underlying mechanism is theoretically derived and experimentally confirmed. The experiments show that by this mode of phlebotomy hyperbaric pressure occurs in the withdrawal flask which cause the escape of air into the venous system. This inflow of air may be enough to cause fatal air embolism.
[Intravital fat embolisms in resectioned lungs].
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[Histoautoradiographic examinations of postmortem proliferation of the epidermis in rats].
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[Suicide by phosphorus poisoning (author's transl)].
In central European countries phosphorus poisonings are rare today. A case of a suicidal intoxication with yellow phosphorus was studied. The clinical course showed the typical three stages including a symptom-free period, although death occurred within 50 h from acute toxic damage of the myocardium. The oral ingestion of phosphorus presents an emergency which demands immediate treatment. Prognosis is depending on the amount of phosphorus absorption in the intestine which is expected to be high if the poison is in a liquid vehicle.
[Detection of diatoms in bone marrow (femur) of nondrowned (author's transl)].
Diatoms in the bone marrow (femur) of 16 nondrowned bodies were detected by a modern method of ultrafiltration. The rate of diatoms were found to be in the same range as in cases of drowning. The results deny the proof of diatoms even in bone marrow to be useful any longer for the diagnosis of death from drowning.
[Is there a topography of posttraumatic fat embolism? Histological studies on lung whole-organ sections].
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Correlations of CT-findings and neuropathological investigations in cranio-cerebral trauma.
For direct comparison of computerized tomograms (CT) and autopsy findings after cranio-cerebral trauma 86 brain specimens were sectioned along the horizontal planes of CT-scanning. A high reliability of the new x-ray method was found in about 72% of the investigated cases. The causes of insufficient correspondence in other cases were discussed.
[Acute fatal copper intoxication. Casuistic and considerations on differential diagnosis (author's transl)].
If the diagnosis of copper-intoxication cannot be made by determination of copper in the collected specimen of the intestine, there may be problems in the differential diagnosis. In Wilson's disease and other cases of symptomatical hypercupriaemia copper content of brain tissues is elevated, while it is normal in acute copper intoxication.
[Acute abdomen in immune complex vasculitis].
The case of a 51 year old male with 6 months history of loss of weight and abdominal pain is discussed. Laparotomy revealed gangrene of the gall bladder and perforation of the small intestine with consecutive peritonitis. Postmortem examination showed hypertensive intracerebral bleeding and disseminated infarctions of the abdominal organs and the kidneys. Histological findings including immune-fluorescence methods revealed the final diagnosis of immune complex vasculitis.