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Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology

Published in:

28-06-2022 | Original Article

Histological changes in lingual striated muscle tissue of human cadavers to estimate the postmortem interval

Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology | Issue 1/2023

Abstract

Although there are physiological methods to determine the postmortem interval (PMI), interval forensic histopathology can be applied to obtain accuracy. The aim was to describe the histological changes in human lingual striated musculature at different PMI. Seven groups were formed according to increasing PMI of 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h postmortem (PM). Each group was made up of 16 samples of tongues from each cadaver. The samples were fixed in buffered formaldehyde at 10% and processed for embedding in paraplast. Section 5 μm thick were cut and dyed with H&E for analysis. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. The histological changes in the striated muscle cells of the tongue were associated with the different PMI. From 6 to 24 h PM, there were initial changes in the cellular and nuclear morphology. At 48 h PM, at least 50% of the samples presented poorly conserved and reduced muscle striations. At 72 h PM, 100% of the cases presented myofibers with altered morphology, cytoplasmic vacuoles (93.75%), edema (68.55%) and pyknosis (93.75%). At 96 and 120 h PM, the myofibers presented pyknotic nuclei, and they were absent in the rest. The changes in the histology of the human lingual striated muscle make it possible to estimate the PMI, either in the early phase (0—72 h) or the late phase (92–120 h). However, further research is needed to verify, refine and expand on these results.

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Title: Histological changes in lingual striated muscle tissue of human cadavers to estimate the postmortem interval
Publication date: 28-06-2022
Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology / Issue 1/2023
Print ISSN: 1547-769X
Electronic ISSN: 1556-2891
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00495-0

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Histological changes in lingual striated muscle tissue of human cadavers to estimate the postmortem interval

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