Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2014) 10:152–154 DOI 10.1007/s12024-013-9493-8
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Tattooing: a reminder of bygone follies ˇ ivkovic´ • Vesna Popovic´ Vladimir Z Slobodan Nikolic´
•
Accepted: 10 September 2013 / Published online: 18 October 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
In the spirit of several articles by Byard et al. [1–3] on the forensic, as well as the cultural and social implications of tattooing, which have been received with great interest, this paper aims to contribute to this particular subject with some additional features represented in specific examples. Tattoos have been used cosmetically for centuries: to disguise imperfections on the body, such as medical skin lesions or surgical scars, as well as areas of facial scarring, or to even camouflage hemangiomas or areas of vitiligo [2]. It is therefore ironic that the removal of tattoos is often associated with scarring and requires a large number of procedures in order to avoid this unwanted side-effect of their removal [1]. As an example of tattooing being used a method to disguise scarring, Fig. 1 offers a somewhat atypical presentation. The image shows the arm of a drug addict, and although it would have been easy to conceal the limb simply by covering it with clothing, inexplicable black and reddish round, thick-outline tattoos have been made to surround and partially cover the ‘‘skin popping’’ scars [4]. Several interesting museum specimens of tattooed skin that were collected in the first three decades of the twen-
tieth century are housed in the Museum of the Institute of Forensic Medicine. As indicated in Prof. Byard’s articles, certain groups may use tattoos to voluntarily demonstrate membership [1–3]. In addition to gang or criminal organizations, prison gangs, religious groups, or armed forces, another such group is that composed of professionals of some kind, such as a guild or a union (Fig. 2). Patriotic or political tattoos may include emblems, flags, political leaders, or other such insignia [1]. However, in politically unstable areas such as the Balkans where regimes may change often, having a tattoo with such an overt political meaning could prove problematic to the wearer (Fig. 3). During the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, tattoos had another social aspect. Although, in many aspects the country had been closed to predominant western influences, a specific form of tattooing was typically found to be present in members of lower social circles. These tattoos were obtained in the army and were usually done with primitive tools. The tattooed date (Fig. 4) indicated the time the person joined the army, and since serving the army was obligatory for all men between the ages of 18 to 20, it has additional forensic significance for identification due to the fact that it roughly points to the year of their birth. These tattoos also indicate that the man was healthy at this age as they had served in the army. They could even be construed to be a stigma of his rite of passage into manhood and readiness for marriage.
Postscript V. Zˇivkovic´ V. Popovic´ S. Nikolic´ (&) Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade-School of Medicine, 31a Deligradska Str., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
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Robins Pathologic Basis of Disease [5] notes that ‘‘tattooing is a form of localized, exogenous pigmentation of the skin. The pigments inoculated are phagocytized by dermal macrophages, in which they reside for the
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Fig. 1 The tattoos on the forearm of a 47-year-old female drug addict surrounding and partially covering scars from ‘‘skin popping.’’ Two scars without tattoos are also visible
Fig. 3 Museum specimen M No. 161, L No. 807, from 1925: a jar containing two pieces of skin from a 45-year-old hotelier who died due to sudden cardiac death. The first tattoo is a picture of Franz Joseph I, the ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who reigned from 1848–1916, and the second that of that nation state’s imperial emblem - a two-headed eagle with a crown
Fig. 2 Museum specimen M No. 249, L No. 836, from 1929: a jar containing a piece of skin from a 29-year-old mason who committed suicide, displaying the tattoo of a trowel and a hammer, the writings ‘‘Fridrich Gutwein’’ (the name of the deceased), and ‘‘1900–1924,’’ the first year is the year he was born, the second is likely to be the year he gained the title of ‘‘craft-master’’
remainder of the life of the embellished. Although the pigments do not evoke any inflammatory response, they have a distressing habit of persisting as a reminder of bygone follies.’’
Fig. 4 An unskilled tattoo on the left thigh of a 55-year-old man, with the letters ‘‘JNA,’’ short for the ‘‘Yugoslav People’s Army’’ (in Serbian ‘‘Jugoslovenska narodna armija’’). This is accompanied by the date he started his service (May 26th, 1978—‘‘26-V-78’’). The branch with leaves on the side and the bayonet indicates an affiliation with the infantry army corps, and a picture of a tank below indicates a specific (tank) unit Acknowledgments This work was supported by Ministry of Science of Republic of Serbia, Grant No. 45005.
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References 1. Byard RW. Tattoos: forensic considerations. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2013. doi:10.1007/s12024-013-9476-9. 2. Cains GE, Byard RW. The forensic and cultural implications of tattooing. In: Tsokos M, editor. Forensic pathology reviews, vol. 5. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2008. p. 197–220. 3. Byard RW. Ned Kelly tattoos—origins and forensic implications. J Forensic Leg Med. 2011;18:276–9.
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Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2014) 10:152–154 4. Iyer S, Subramanian P, Pabari A. A devastating complication of ‘skin popping’. Surgeon. 2011;9:295–7. 5. Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL. Cellular injury and cellular death. In: Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL, editors. Robbins pathologic basis of disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 1994. p. 28.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Tattooing: a reminder of bygone follies ˇ ivkovic´ • Vesna Popovic´ Vladimir Z Slobodan Nikolic´
•
Accepted: 10 September 2013 / Published online: 18 October 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
In the spirit of several articles by Byard et al. [1–3] on the forensic, as well as the cultural and social implications of tattooing, which have been received with great interest, this paper aims to contribute to this particular subject with some additional features represented in specific examples. Tattoos have been used cosmetically for centuries: to disguise imperfections on the body, such as medical skin lesions or surgical scars, as well as areas of facial scarring, or to even camouflage hemangiomas or areas of vitiligo [2]. It is therefore ironic that the removal of tattoos is often associated with scarring and requires a large number of procedures in order to avoid this unwanted side-effect of their removal [1]. As an example of tattooing being used a method to disguise scarring, Fig. 1 offers a somewhat atypical presentation. The image shows the arm of a drug addict, and although it would have been easy to conceal the limb simply by covering it with clothing, inexplicable black and reddish round, thick-outline tattoos have been made to surround and partially cover the ‘‘skin popping’’ scars [4]. Several interesting museum specimens of tattooed skin that were collected in the first three decades of the twen-
tieth century are housed in the Museum of the Institute of Forensic Medicine. As indicated in Prof. Byard’s articles, certain groups may use tattoos to voluntarily demonstrate membership [1–3]. In addition to gang or criminal organizations, prison gangs, religious groups, or armed forces, another such group is that composed of professionals of some kind, such as a guild or a union (Fig. 2). Patriotic or political tattoos may include emblems, flags, political leaders, or other such insignia [1]. However, in politically unstable areas such as the Balkans where regimes may change often, having a tattoo with such an overt political meaning could prove problematic to the wearer (Fig. 3). During the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, tattoos had another social aspect. Although, in many aspects the country had been closed to predominant western influences, a specific form of tattooing was typically found to be present in members of lower social circles. These tattoos were obtained in the army and were usually done with primitive tools. The tattooed date (Fig. 4) indicated the time the person joined the army, and since serving the army was obligatory for all men between the ages of 18 to 20, it has additional forensic significance for identification due to the fact that it roughly points to the year of their birth. These tattoos also indicate that the man was healthy at this age as they had served in the army. They could even be construed to be a stigma of his rite of passage into manhood and readiness for marriage.
Postscript V. Zˇivkovic´ V. Popovic´ S. Nikolic´ (&) Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade-School of Medicine, 31a Deligradska Str., 11000 Belgrade, Serbia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
123
Robins Pathologic Basis of Disease [5] notes that ‘‘tattooing is a form of localized, exogenous pigmentation of the skin. The pigments inoculated are phagocytized by dermal macrophages, in which they reside for the
Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2014) 10:152–154
153
Fig. 1 The tattoos on the forearm of a 47-year-old female drug addict surrounding and partially covering scars from ‘‘skin popping.’’ Two scars without tattoos are also visible
Fig. 3 Museum specimen M No. 161, L No. 807, from 1925: a jar containing two pieces of skin from a 45-year-old hotelier who died due to sudden cardiac death. The first tattoo is a picture of Franz Joseph I, the ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who reigned from 1848–1916, and the second that of that nation state’s imperial emblem - a two-headed eagle with a crown
Fig. 2 Museum specimen M No. 249, L No. 836, from 1929: a jar containing a piece of skin from a 29-year-old mason who committed suicide, displaying the tattoo of a trowel and a hammer, the writings ‘‘Fridrich Gutwein’’ (the name of the deceased), and ‘‘1900–1924,’’ the first year is the year he was born, the second is likely to be the year he gained the title of ‘‘craft-master’’
remainder of the life of the embellished. Although the pigments do not evoke any inflammatory response, they have a distressing habit of persisting as a reminder of bygone follies.’’
Fig. 4 An unskilled tattoo on the left thigh of a 55-year-old man, with the letters ‘‘JNA,’’ short for the ‘‘Yugoslav People’s Army’’ (in Serbian ‘‘Jugoslovenska narodna armija’’). This is accompanied by the date he started his service (May 26th, 1978—‘‘26-V-78’’). The branch with leaves on the side and the bayonet indicates an affiliation with the infantry army corps, and a picture of a tank below indicates a specific (tank) unit Acknowledgments This work was supported by Ministry of Science of Republic of Serbia, Grant No. 45005.
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References 1. Byard RW. Tattoos: forensic considerations. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2013. doi:10.1007/s12024-013-9476-9. 2. Cains GE, Byard RW. The forensic and cultural implications of tattooing. In: Tsokos M, editor. Forensic pathology reviews, vol. 5. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2008. p. 197–220. 3. Byard RW. Ned Kelly tattoos—origins and forensic implications. J Forensic Leg Med. 2011;18:276–9.
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Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2014) 10:152–154 4. Iyer S, Subramanian P, Pabari A. A devastating complication of ‘skin popping’. Surgeon. 2011;9:295–7. 5. Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL. Cellular injury and cellular death. In: Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL, editors. Robbins pathologic basis of disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 1994. p. 28.
