[Is identification of badly burned cadavers impossible? Reconstruction of the burned facial skull as a basis for roentgen identification].

The described case underlines all difficulties which arise in identification procedure of totally burned human remains. The main problem is the fragility of bone and tooth fragments and the radiological screening of structures of high individual specificity. After the fire in an old beekeeping a totally burned corpse has been found. The fragments of the bones and jaws were fixed with sodium silicate immediately. The viscero-cranium was reconstructed and x-rayed in an modified orthopantomography-x-ray-equipment. The comparison of pre- and postmortem radiographs made a positive identification possible.