FORENSIC SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC HEMIN ANALYSIS IN RETROPERITONEAL HEMORRHAGES

Abstract

Establishing whether a traumatic injury occurred before death is a fundamental objective of forensic medical examination. The problem is especially difficult when the survival interval is short and the inflammatory or reparative responses used in routine histopathological assessment have not yet developed sufficiently. Macroscopic hemorrhage and the presence of extravasated erythrocytes alone cannot always resolve the question of injury vitality. The interpretation of early tissue alterations is further influenced by the mechanism and severity of trauma, the anatomical site, physiological condition, associated diseases, and the postmortem interval.