Diagnosing death by drowning through the analysis of blood markers by inductively coupled plasma: mass spectrometry
Investigation of bodies recovered out of water is a complex but frequent medico-legal task. The key problem is if the victim died due to drowning or by the means of other cause and placed in water. At the moment, the diagnosis of drowning is based on some unspecific findings during autopsy (lung distension and the presence of froth in upper airways and lungs) and the results of laboratory tests. Our project aimed to evaluate the usefulness of the determination by ICP-MS of trace elements (TE)...