In the era of growing interest in stem cells, the availability of donors for transplantation has become a problem. The isolation of embryonic and fetal cells raises ethical controversies, and the number of adult donors is deficient. Stem cells isolated from deceased donors, known as cadaveric stem cells (CaSCs), may alleviate this problem. So far, it was possible to isolate from deceased donors mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), adipose delivered stem cells (ADSCs), neural stem cells (NSCs), retinal progenitor cells (RPCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Recent studies have shown that it is possible to collect and use CaSCs from cadavers, even these with an extended postmortem interval (PMI) provided proper storage conditions (like cadaver heparinization or liquid nitrogen storage) are maintained. The presented review summarizes the latest research on CaSCs and their current therapeutic applications. It describes the developments in thanatotranscriptome and scaffolding for cadaver cells, summarizes their potential applications in regenerative medicine, and lists their limitations, such as donor’s unknown medical condition in criminal cases, limited differentiation potential, higher risk of carcinogenesis, or changing DNA quality. Finally, the review underlines the need to develop procedures determining the safe CaSCs harvesting and use.

Methanol poisonings caused by drinking industrial alcohol remain a severe problem worldwide. Education on types of alcohol and their harmfulness and legal regulations limiting the industrial alcohol trade seem to be the keys to reducing the number of poisonings. Methanol distribution in different tissues after absorption is not well understood. This research aimed to quantify the methanol and formic acid distribution in body fluids and tissue material in post-mortem samples collected from 19 fatal victims of massive intoxication with industrial alcohol in the Silesia Region (Poland) who died between April and June 2022. The samples were analyzed using a gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC-FID), and correlation coefficients for methanol and formic acid were determined. The results show a wide distribution of methanol and formic acid in human post-mortem biological fluids (blood, urine, vitreous humor, bile, and cerebrospinal fluid) and tissues (muscle, kidney, liver, spleen, lung, and brain). The strongest correlation for methanol concentration in blood and body fluids/tissues was obtained in the cerebrospinal fluid (r = 0.997) and for formic acid in muscle tissue (r = 0.931). The obtained results may be a valuable tool in toxicological analysis and improve medical standards of early diagnosis and targeted treatment.

Cartilage tissue performs many functions in the human body. The diseases and injuries affecting it are prevalent due to its slow regeneration rate. However, cartilage tissue is exceptionally important for its auspicious use in forensic medicine due to its slow postmortem degradation rate. The presented review summarizes the latest research on cartilage tissues and their current and potential applications in forensic science. It also describes the most important studies on using cartilage and its microscopic and macroscopic analyses to estimate the deceased age and determine postmortem interval (PMI) values and the crime weapon. Additionally, the review describes attempts to isolate DNA from cartilage tissue for individual identification. The review also mentions recent, less abundant studies on the cartilage in forensic toxicology and genetics. It points out further directions and prospects for research development on cartilage tissue and its promising use in forensic medicine