[The significance of inner ear fluid (perilymph) in forensic medicine (author's transl)].

An original method for collecting the perilymph in the inner ear by chiselling the pyramid of the temporal bone is presented; From 300 to 350 mul of fluid may be obtained each time. Various types of determination were performed on 399 human cadavers. The alcohol level was tested in 140 cases, the ABO(H) group antigens were determined in 89 cases, the phenotypes of the gamma-globulin (1) group system in 152 cases, and the alpha1-antitrypsin (Pi) system in 18 cases. Determinations of the alcohol level in the perilymph has been confirmed to be useful, as they allow not only determination of the degree of intoxication in cadavers in an advanced state of decomposition, but also by comparing the alcohol concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid, the vitreous humour, and the blood, the phases of elimination and absorption of alcohol may be more precisely determined. It was also found that the perilymph is a good medium for the determination of the group antigens of the red blood-cells and the gamma-globulin system, the serum and the alpha1-antitrypsin enzyme. These data suggest that the method may be more widely used in various forensic medical tests.