[Erroneous paths of forensic medicine]

In the history of the progress of forensic medicine, apart from the successes, false theories appeared to happen, many of which were discarded only after many years. Among them, the greatest importance was gained by the theory of status thymo-lymphaticus (said to explain the causes of sudden deaths of young people) and the theory of blood's fluidity as a symptom indicating asphyxia as the cause of death. Of lesser popularity were the theories about the so called "watery shot", a homicide committed by adding powdered glass to the victim's meal and the theory of recreating the image of the killer by inspecting the victim's retina.