Medicinski vjesnik, Vol. 24 No. (1-2), 1992.
Ostalo
Forensic medicine in war conditions in the Sl. Brod hospital
Mato Vukelić
Tratinčica Jakovina
Krunoslav Jakovina
Sažetak
Although war in Croatia from summer 1991 was getting in strength, the inhabitants of Slavonski Brod community lived a cautious but relatively peaceful life. From September 1991 there were casual trenchmortar attacks and air raids with bombs and rockets, but they were not very intensive. Until March 1992 year in our Dissecting department soldiers were brought during trench-mortar attacks and air raids on our community. Until March 25th 1992 our service works in almost peacetime conditions. It was founded in 1972 and consists of well-established Histological and Citological laboratory and Dissecting department for criminal medicine. Our service works for the territory of Slavonski Brod community and a larger part of Bosanska Posavina. In the service 3 pathologists are engaged and one of them is consultant for criminalistic medicine; three higher and 1 middle degree medical technicians, 2 aid assistants at dissecting and other accompanying workers. It is evident that the staff is competent but the conditions for the practice are much worse. The equipment is worn-out and the space is small and unsutable and unadequate for the work in peacetime conditions. At the beginning of April 1992 the number of dead, mainly war victims was increased and the work became drudgery. In a room of only 30 square metres (without auxiliary space) there is only one post for dissecting and one refrigerator for six corps. Several times during the hottest summer days in dissecting room there were up to 40 corpses, to that we had to adapt old beds in mobile tables for dissecting and in a hand-cart for transporting the dead. The small capacity of refrigerator for dead we solved using refrigerator lorry. The Dissection department has no cellar yet we worked during the most severe artillery attacks and air raids on Slavonski Brod. Thus, our lives were almost permanently endangered. From July 14th 1991, when we received the first Croatian soldier in Dissecting department about 1500 dead were inspected, 657 of them perished as victims of war operations. Wartime we divided into two parts: I period - from July 14th 1991 till March 24th, and second period (II) from March 25th till August 24th 1992, namely to the moment of writing this report. Of the total number of victims 657, in the I period, 85 were inspected and in second period 572. Of the total number of the inspected dead persons, victims of war, 73,4% were soldiers, 20,6% grown up civilians, 4% children and 2% were unidentified. The percentage of civil war victims differs in I and II period. In I period 40,0% civilians perished, and in II period 24,6%. On the territory of Slavonski Brod community in I period even 85,7% civilians passed away, and in II period 76,4% civilians perished. The differences happened because conditions of the war were changing. In 1991 year battles of various intensity were conducted on the battlefields in Croatia and soldiers from Slavonski Brod community took part in them, as well. From September 1991 intermittent trench-mortar attacks and air raids on civilian objects happened, thus mainly civilians were victims. In II period, war in Bosanska Posavina stirred up and in the same time there were everyday artillery attacks and sometimes air raids on Slavonski Brod and villages in community. Especially concerning is great number of killed children in community. In I period 57,1% children were war victims, and II period 23,5% children of the total number of perished i. e. 66,7% and 30,7% of killed civilians. Besides large number of inspected died persons during the war, the practice in Histologic and Citologic laboratory was not interrupted. I the I period of wartime the number of biopsies was almost doubled. At the end of 1991 the hospital in Slavonski Brod was almost the only one in this part of Croatia which was in full working order. Thus, the material for histological analyses we were getting from the territories of Nova Gradiška, Đakovo, Županja and partly Vinkovci.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
195230
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.12.1992.
Posjeta: 669 *