Ingestion of cheap para-pharmaceuticals (such as disinfectants, deodorizing solutions, etc.) which are designed only for external use is an unfortunate habit encountered in the recent decades in the economically disadvantaged areas of Romania inhabited by poor, uninformed, and sanitary uneducated population. These para-pharmaceutical products are based on different concentrations of ethanol. Occasionally, the manufacturer modifies the product formula, or worse omits on the label that the ethanol was replaced with methanol, resulting in mass poisoning with a large number of casualties. The authors present a case of mass poisoning by methanol that occurred during one month and resulted in 40 cases of methanol intoxication. Only 5 out of the 40 victims survived the intoxication. All the dead victims underwent medico-legal autopsy which revealed only general features, liable to poisoning. The toxicological examination result was positive for methanol in all the cases. All the intoxicated victims were homeless; they were heavy ethanol consumers, especially of the product rubbing alcohol. The male: female ratio was 31:4 and the age range was between 25 and 70 years old, with an average of 50 years. All the victims were hospitalized in deep coma, showing obvious pathological changes specific to chronic ethanol consumption. Conclusions: some alcoholic para-pharmaceutical products manufactured for external use are ingested by chronic ethanol drinkers. When these products contain methanol, they can cause severe intoxication followed by an impressively large number of deaths.

Traditional medical education can be disrupted during periods of epidemic or pandemic, due to the closure of universities and the restriction of social human contact in order to limit the pathogen transmission. COVID-19 pandemic determined universities and teachers to identify alternative virtual education methods, by teaching online courses and practical activities stipulated in the university curriculum. The aim of this paper is to compare the traditional method of teaching forensic autopsy with the virtual one, imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the literature data, the authors analyze the importance of autopsy in the training of future physicians, including the advantages and disadvantages of direct exposure of students to this medical procedure. The virtual teaching of forensic autopsy is also analyzed, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages. The authors particularize the analysis through a case study, in which they describe the online teaching of forensic autopsy at "Grigore

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From its beginning, the autopsy represented a useful instrument for the progression of medicine and continues to be a valuable tool in postmortem diagnosis of various diseases or traumatic injuries. Modern laboratory technology is an important aid in achieving autopsy goals but it is either not available or not permanently available in all the departments of Forensic Medicine and do not offer every time quick results, which might be necessary to guide the next steps of the forensic investigation. In this paper the authors present a set of rapid, sensitive and effective chemical reactions, described in the literature over the time and meant to support the forensic experts, as they can be easily performed in the autopsy room. Moreover, the application of these reactions may reduce the costs of laboratory analyzes in cases where the use of expensive laboratory technologies is no longer required or limited by the results of these reactions. Also, a brief description of the collection method for biological samples to be used is provided. At the end of the paper the authors suggest a minimum kit of chemical substances which are necessary in the autopsy room, in order for these analyses to be performed.

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