To the problem of using the diatom test for the widening of potentialities of medicolegal expert examinations for diagnostics of death by drowning

The diagnosis of drowning is one of the most difficult in forensic medicine. The diatom test is one of the available methods to diagnose the cause of death of submerged bodies. The aim of the research was to develop criteria for objective determination of place and time of drowning using results of the diatom plankton analysis. The material includes 312 bodies of subjects found in water suspected to have died by drowning. The diatoms were identified to describe the ecological properties of the river section in which the death had taken place. The cautious method of preparation of internal bodies was offered. As the procedure recommended takes less time and leads to almost complete recovery of diatoms the method has great probative value in case of death by drowning.